Nahid Behroozi, a Bahá'í citizen, accused of 'promoting beliefs'

Radio Farda has learned that Nahid Behroozi, a Bahá'í citizen who was arrested three days ago in Karaj, has been accused of 'promoting the Bahá'í faith.' Sources close to Ms. Behroozi's family told Radio Farda on Thursday, August 11, that this accusation 'was not included from the beginning in the judicial order for Ms. Behroozi's arrest and was recorded by security agents at the time of her arrest.' Furthermore, despite three days having passed since this citizen's detention, security and judicial officials have prevented her access to 'medications and necessary items.' Radio Farda reported on Tuesday, August 8, that security agents entered Ms. Behroozi's home in the Banafsha neighborhood of Karaj and arrested her. Four agents of the Ministry of Intelligence entered the building under the pretext of changing the parking jack subscription number and then, through intimidation and threats, entered Ms. Behroozi's apartment. According to informed sources, the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence not only seized 'all financial and personal documents, medical records of Nahid Behroozi, electronic devices, and religious books,' but also destroyed religious symbols and images inside the home. Pressure on Bahá'í followers has continued over the past month; security forces arrested a Bahá'í citizen in the city of Makoo in West Azerbaijan province, and a court session for two other Bahá'í citizens was held in Babol. Radio Farda has previously reported on new restrictions on Bahá'ís, including limitations on burials in Bahá'í cemeteries in Tehran, the sealing of shops belonging to these citizens, and dismissals from jobs, noting that with the onset of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, a new wave of repression against Bahá'í citizens in Iran has begun. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Bahá'í faith, and judicial officials have repeatedly labeled Bahá'ís as 'spies and enemies,' issuing sentences of death, arrest, imprisonment, and deprivation of education and employment against them. Javid Rahman, in his detailed report as the UN Special Rapporteur published on August 1, stated that since the 1980s, Bahá'ís in Iran have been 'targeted with the intent of genocide, and the harassment and attacks against religious, ethnic, and linguistic minorities and political opponents continue without punishment for the perpetrators.'