Request from Merchants in Mazandaran for the Reopening of Sealed Bahá'í Shops

A group of merchants from various cities in Mazandaran province has recently called for the reopening of sealed Bahá'í shops in the region through separate letters. Morteza Ismailpour, the head of Bahá'í News, said on Sunday to Radio Farda that shopkeepers from cities like Nowshahr, Sari, and several others have submitted their requests in the form of affidavits or letters to provincial authorities. The signatories of these letters stated that the sealing of Bahá'í shops, which has lasted for over six months, has led to some 'disorder' in their businesses. The petitioners referred to the owners of the sealed Bahá'í shops as individuals with 'good morals', 'reputation', and 'expertise', asserting that they have not exhibited any 'illegal behavior'. The signatories explicitly expressed their astonishment and 'surprise' at the sealing of Bahá'í shops in Mazandaran province. Merchants and shopkeepers in Nowshahr also wrote a letter to the city's governor, evaluating the sealing of these units as 'causing distrust towards Islamic rituals and economic stagnation in the city'. Last November, at least 61 Bahá'í businesses in Qaemshahr and Sari were sealed by public place officers due to closures during Bahá'í religious holidays, and efforts to reopen these units have not been fruitful so far. Bani Dougal, a senior representative of the Bahá'í community at the United Nations, described the sealing of many Bahá'í businesses last year as a sign of the 'futility of Iranian government officials' claims of no discrimination against the Bahá'í community in Iran'. The Bahá'í World Community also sent an open letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on September 7 last year, urging him to end the 'economic repression of Bahá'ís' in Iran. In recent years, numerous reports have emerged regarding the sealing of Bahá'í businesses in several cities in Iran, and these restrictions against members of this community continue. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Bahá'í faith, and senior government officials have repeatedly spoken against it, detaining and imprisoning dozens of Bahá'ís in Iran. The Bahá'í World Community states that Iran is home to nearly 300,000 of its believers and has repeatedly urged the international community to increase efforts to prevent the repression of Bahá'ís in Iran. Bahá'ís in Iran are deprived of the right to education at universities and employment in government institutions. The Bahá'í community claims that since the 1979 revolution, over 200 Bahá'ís have been killed by the Iranian government, and thousands have been arrested and subjected to harassment.