Transfer of 10 Baha'i Citizens to Karaj Central and Kachoui Prisons for Imprisonment

News sources reported the detention of 10 Baha'i citizens in Iran and their transfer to Karaj Central Prison and Kachoui Prison for the execution of their sentences. HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, reported on Sunday, August 6, that Sabin Yazdani, a Baha'i citizen, was transferred to Kachoui Prison in the city of Fardis, Alborz Province, to serve her three-year sentence. Sabin Yazdani was among 13 Baha'i citizens who were sentenced to a total of '40 years and seven months' in prison, along with 'additional penalties,' by Branch 12 of the Karaj Court of Appeals in late June. In this case, Afif Naeimi received a 'seven-year' sentence, Samaneh Ostovar and Kamyar Habibi each received 'five years,' Ramleh Tirgarnejad and Elham Sharqi Arani each received 'three years,' and Mahsa Tirgar, Shahrzad Mostouri, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Negin Rezaei, Nikisa Sadeghi, Sahba Adiyani, and Bita Momtazi each received 'two years and one month' in prison. Additionally, HRANA reported on Saturday, August 5, that among the convicted Baha'i citizens in this case, Mahsa Tirgar Behnamiri, Ramleh Tirgarnejad, Elham Sharqi Arani, Nikisa Sadeghi, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Shahrzad Mostouri, and Negin Rezaei were transferred to Kachoui Prison, while Kamyar Habibi and Samaneh Ostovar were sent to Karaj Central Prison. Other penalties for these citizens include 'fines, residency bans in Alborz Province, social rights restrictions, and exit bans.' The charges against these Baha'i citizens, who were arrested in a joint case in the months of Mordad and Shahrivar 1401 (August and September 2022), include 'insulting and educational and promotional activities against Islamic law, participating in the formation of groups and managing individuals with the intent to disrupt national security by promoting Baha'ism among children and adolescents, educational and promotional activities contrary to Islamic law through teaching and promoting based on Baha'i teachings in kindergartens, and propaganda against Islamic law through coaching education.' Baha'i citizens have systematically faced widespread social and political discrimination and illegal actions, including arbitrary arrests, executions, enforced disappearances, forced burials, and desecration of their graves since the 1979 revolution. According to the Open Iran database, 'at least 225 Baha'is have been killed directly or indirectly by the Islamic Republic since its establishment.' Simin Fahandj, a representative of the Baha'i International Community at the United Nations, previously criticized the 'forced burial of a Baha'i citizen's body in the Khavaran cemetery without informing their family.' The annual report 'International Religious Freedom' for the year 2022, prepared by the Office of Religious Freedom of the U.S. Department of State, indicates that the suppression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization by the Iranian government against Baha'i community members have intensified. Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, emphasized the 'enduring commitment' of the U.S. government to defend the right to religious freedom, stating that the United States stands with religious freedom activists and people whose religious rights are violated.