Letter from 14 Political Prisoners in Sympathy with the Family of Afagh Khosravi-Zand: Her Life Was 'Entirely Resilience'

Following the passing of Afagh Khosravi-Zand, a Baha'i citizen, 14 women political prisoners expressed their condolences to her family in a letter titled 'In Mourning for a Mother of Suffering and Resilience'. According to some human rights activists, Afagh Khosravi-Zand's family announced in response to the Iranian government's pressure to bury her in Khavaran that they would donate her body for 'the benefit of medical students'. Kamran Rahimian, the child of this Baha'i citizen, mentioned in an Instagram note that this action was to 'preserve the independence of the Baha'i community' and 'respect the sanctity of the spirit of Khavaran'. Rahim Rahimian, a Baha'i citizen and husband of Afagh Khosravi-Zand, was executed in 1984, and their two Baha'i children, Kamran and Keyvan, have also been arrested and imprisoned multiple times. In their letter published on October 29, the 14 political prisoners described Afagh Khosravi-Zand as a woman 'in struggle' against 'injustice and violence' and 'weakness and helplessness', and her life as 'entirely resilience'. These 14 political prisoners expressed their condolences to Keyvan Rahimian, the child of the imprisoned Afagh Khosravi-Zand, and other mourners of this Baha'i citizen. The signatories of this letter include Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, Narges Mohammadi, Golrokh Iraee, Sepideh Kashavarz, Mahvash Adalati, Sepideh Gholian, Faezah Hashemi, Nahid Taghavi, Shakila Monfared, Mahbubeh Rezaei, Rezvaneh Khanbeigi, Zahra Tavakoli, and Hoda Tavakoli. Keyvan Rahimian, a professor at the virtual university of Baha'is in Iran, who has a history of imprisonment, was arrested on July 18 this year in Tehran and is currently imprisoned in Evin Prison. According to the Telegram channel 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality', the burial of Baha'i citizens in the Khavaran cemetery has continued for the past two years despite the Baha'i community's opposition, and the 'goal of the Islamic Republic' in this action is 'to destroy the evidence of the crime of the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988, who were buried in mass graves in Khavaran.' The report states that 'the families of Khavaran have repeatedly protested and condemned this action', and among them, 'in May 2023, a group of Khavaran families inside published a letter condemning this movement and calling for an end to the government's efforts to destroy the evidence of the crime in Khavaran.' The report emphasizes that this trend is also occurring 'in similar cemeteries in other cities in Iran such as Tabriz, Mashhad, Ahvaz, and Amol.' Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the worldwide Baha'i community, considered the deprivation of Baha'is in Iran 'of almost all their civil and citizenship rights' and that even after death, 'they are not allowed to be buried' a concerning issue.