Shiraz Revolutionary Court Sentences Three Baha'i Citizens to Imprisonment and Additional Punishments

The Shiraz Revolutionary Court has sentenced three Baha'i citizens to imprisonment and additional penalties on charges of membership in an 'illegal and anti-regime group' with the intent of 'disrupting national security.' According to a report received by Voice of America on Tuesday, October 24, the third hearing for the case of Hassan Salehi, Saeed Abadi, and Vahid Dana, three Baha'i citizens, was held in the first branch of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court. Based on the ruling issued by this court, each of these citizens has been sentenced to a total of six years, one month, and 17 days of imprisonment 'under electronic monitoring,' as well as fines and social deprivation. The report indicates that although in both previous sessions, the court president had returned the case for further investigation due to 'deficiencies in the case and lack of evidence,' this time, 'without making any changes to the case,' it was accepted. The report to the Persian section of Voice of America states that 'the judge spoke about the current situation in the region' without mentioning a single word about the case, accusing the Baha'is of 'colluding' with 'anger and annoyance' and 'considering even self-defense as propaganda.' The report adds: 'The judge also stated that no further evidence was needed, concluded the court, and issued the ruling on the same day.' According to the ruling, each of these three Baha'i citizens was sentenced to 'two years, seven months, and 16 days of punitive imprisonment' for 'membership in an illegal and anti-regime sect with the intent to disrupt national security.' Additionally, the court sentenced each of the three to 'three years, six months, and one day of punitive imprisonment under electronic monitoring within a thousand meters of their residence' for 'propagandistic activities contrary to the sacred Islamic law.' Furthermore, a fine of '371 million rials and deprivation of social rights for 15 years with the execution of the harsher punishment' is another part of this court's ruling. Hassan Salehi, Saeed Abadi, and Vahid Dana were arrested on April 27, 2021, by agents of the Shiraz Intelligence Department at their homes and taken to the detention center known as 'Block 100,' and subsequently transferred to Adelabad Prison. These three Baha'i citizens were released from Adelabad Prison on June 1 of that year after posting bail. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had previously expressed concern over the increasing pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to detain Baha'is, stating that at least about 200 individuals are imprisoned in the Islamic Republic for religious or ideological reasons. Baha'i citizens in Iran have systematically faced executions, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the 1979 revolution. Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the worldwide Baha'i community, has previously told Voice of America that the repression of Baha'i citizens in Iran has 'intensified significantly.'