Supreme Court Rejects Sanaz Tafazoli's Request for Retrial, Bahai Citizen in Prison

The news agency of human rights activists in Iran, Hrana, reported on Sunday that the request for retrial by Sanaz Tafazoli, a Bahai citizen imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, has been rejected by the Supreme Court. According to Hrana, a family member of this Bahai citizen confirmed this news to the agency, stating: "The Supreme Court has rejected Ms. Tafazoli's request for retrial without providing any explanation." Based on this report, the decision to reject the retrial request was communicated to Ms. Tafazoli's defense attorney by the highest judicial authority in the country last week. Sanaz Tafazoli, 45, was arrested on November 22, 2022, by intelligence agents during a home search and confiscation of personal belongings. After several extensions of her detention, she was eventually transferred to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad in January. In August of this year, she was sentenced by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, presided over by Hadi Mansouri, to six years and six months in prison for the charge of "forming a group with the intent to disrupt internal security," and for the charge of "conspiracy and collusion to commit a crime against national security," she was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison. Sanaz Tafazoli was also sentenced to eight months in prison for the charge of "educational or promotional activities contrary to or disruptive to the sacred Islamic law in the form of a sect, group, association, or similar." These sentences were recently confirmed by Branch 35 of the Court of Appeals of Razavi Khorasan Province. Hrana states that under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the harsher punishment of six years and six months in prison will be enforceable for her. "Discovery of books and materials related to the Bahai faith" and "forming educational groups for Bahai children" are among the accusations against Ms. Sanaz Tafazoli. Sanaz Tafazoli, a resident of Mashhad, had previously been arrested and imprisoned in the early 1990s. Bahai citizens in the Islamic Republic are deprived of freedoms related to their religious beliefs, and this systematic deprivation occurs while, according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of religion and to change their religion, as well as the freedom to express it individually or collectively, publicly or privately. According to unofficial sources, there are more than three hundred thousand Bahai citizens living in Iran, but the Constitution of the Islamic Republic only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism and does not recognize the Bahai faith. Since the 1979 revolution, Bahai citizens have systematically faced execution, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions, including arbitrary arrests and desecration of their cemeteries. Pressure on Bahais in Iran; a citizen was arrested and transferred to prison in Shiraz. Three Bahai citizens in Bojnord were sentenced to imprisonment and fined. Dozens of political and civil activists condemned the actions of the "Velayat government" in depriving Bahais in Iran of their "basic rights." A report from "Hengaw" on the human rights situation in Iran in 2023; over 2,300 citizens were arrested and at least 823 prisoners were executed. The timing of a Bahai citizen's trial was set; the head of the court refused to accept a designated lawyer.