Revolutionary Court of Sari Tried Three Baha'i Citizens

The second branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sari tried three Baha'i citizens over three consecutive days this week. According to Hrana, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, these three Baha'i citizens, named Hooman Taef, Fars Fanaiyan, and Shirin Katiri, were tried from Tuesday, March 13 to Thursday, March 15. The charge against these Baha'i citizens was "deviant educational and promotional activities contrary to or disruptive to the sacred Sharia of Islam." These three Baha'i citizens were released on bail after an interrogation session in late February, which was held without access to a chosen lawyer in the sixth branch of the Qaemshahr prosecutor's office. According to Hrana, Hooman Taef and his wife, Fars Fanaiyan, are among the Baha'is whose belongings were seized by security forces during the search of the homes of five Baha'i citizens in Qaemshahr on October 16. The Revolutionary Court of Yazd also tried eight Baha'is on Wednesday, March 14. The continuation of trials of Baha'i citizens comes at a time when on January 1, 147 political and civil activists condemned the wave of arrests against Baha'is in Iran and the "deprivation of their fundamental human and civil rights" by the Islamic Republic, calling for an end to "this historical shame." The global Baha'i community also criticized the intensification of the Islamic Republic's actions against Baha'i citizens in Iran in a statement on December 5, stating that "violent and insulting raids on Baha'i homes, arrests, and unjust trials on baseless charges against Baha'is have increased." The Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on Baha'is in recent years. Arrests, imprisonment, property destruction, deprivation of social services, confiscation of property, and destruction of graves are part of the systematic behavior of the Iranian government against this religious minority in the country. The Revolutionary Court of Yazd tried eight Baha'i citizens on charges of "propaganda against the regime" and "sacred Sharia," with Anisa Fanaiyan, a Baha'i citizen, sentenced to 16 years in prison. The global Baha'i community called for the Islamic Republic to stop the cultural cleansing of the Baha'i community. Exclusive: Yekta Fahendaj Saadi is imprisoned in Adelabad prison in Shiraz without a clear status.