Mahvash Sabet, a Leader of the Baha'i Community in Iran, Released After 10 Years in Prison

Mahvash Sabet, a leader of the Baha'i community in Iran, was released from prison on Tuesday, September 18, after serving a 10-year sentence. The Baha'i World Community confirmed this news in a statement, emphasizing that 'today, Ms. Sabet finishes her prison term while religious discrimination against Baha'is in Iran is on the rise.' Mahvash Sabet was arrested on March 6, 2008, in Mashhad and was one of seven members of the group managing the Baha'i community in Iran known as the 'Yaran' group. At the time of her arrest, she was 54 years old. Before losing her job 'due to being a Baha'i,' she was a teacher and school principal and had worked with the National Literacy Committee of Iran until the Islamic Revolution in February 1979. Two months after Ms. Sabet's arrest, six other members of the Yaran group were arrested in May 2009, and according to the Baha'i World Community's statement on Tuesday, 'all seven were held in solitary confinement for weeks, deprived of contact with the outside world, and endured severe and exhausting treatment along with significant psychological and physical pressures.' Hassan Haddad, the then Deputy Security Prosecutor of Tehran, stated in February of that year that the charges against the Baha'i detainees included 'espionage for Israel,' 'insulting the sacred,' and 'propaganda against the regime.' Meanwhile, Bani Dugal, the senior representative of the Baha'i World Community at the United Nations, stated that 'the only crime of the detainees is their belief in the Baha'i faith.' The Revolutionary Court sentenced the members of the Yaran group to twenty years in prison, and as stated by the Baha'i World Community in its statement, 'their sentences were later reduced to ten years due to the delayed implementation of an amendment to the penal code enacted in 2013.' It is still unclear when other leaders of the Baha'i community will be released from prison. The detention of Baha'i leaders has faced widespread international reactions, with the United Nations and human rights organizations repeatedly calling for their unconditional release. The Iranian government does not recognize the Baha'i faith and consequently not only prevents any activities by its followers but, according to Baha'is, they are also deprived of many basic rights as Iranian citizens. In its statement on Tuesday, the Baha'i World Community noted that since Hassan Rouhani took office, 'in recent years, harassment and economic pressure against Baha'is have increased,' adding that 'since 2013, hundreds of Baha'i shops and businesses have been sealed, and many families have lost their livelihoods.' The senior representative of the Baha'i World Community at the United Nations stated: 'The trial and treatment of the seven former Yaran members reflect the treatment of the entire Baha'i community in Iran. Over the past 40 years, more than 220 Baha'is have been killed, hundreds have been imprisoned, and the entire community has been completely deprived of public sector jobs and university education.' According to Amnesty International, over 300,000 Baha'is live in Iran.