Negar Misaqian, Baha'i citizen residing in Shiraz, accused of 'propaganda against the regime'

The news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran reported on the indictment of Negar Misaqian, a Baha'i citizen residing in Shiraz, at the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of this city. According to the Harana news agency, during this session held on Thursday, September 29, in Branch 14 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Shiraz, Ms. Misaqian was charged with 'propaganda against the regime.' On Wednesday, September 28, just two days after government agents attacked the residence of several Baha'is in Tabriz and arrested at least three of them, named Azam Azmoudeh, Sina Aghdas, and Iraj Nooresta, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic arrested Negar Misaqian and transferred her to the detention center 'Block 100.' Ms. Misaqian has previously been arrested along with several other Baha'is and has a history of judicial encounters with government forces in Shiraz. Baha'i citizens have systematically faced execution, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions such as arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the February 1979 revolution in Iran. Previously, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed concern over the intensification of pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Baha'is. This commission reported that over the past several decades, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have systematically targeted Baha'is, Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and non-religious individuals for harassment, arrest, long-term imprisonment, exile, or prohibition from participating in political and social activities. The suppression of Baha'i citizens in various cities of Iran; Negar Misaqian was arrested in Shiraz. Mojdeh Fallahi, a Christian convert, was arrested in Shiraz by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. The raid by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on the residence of Baha'is in Tabriz resulted in the arrest of three individuals. The Kerman Court of Appeals confirmed the imprisonment of a Baha'i citizen.