Two Baha'i Citizens in Rasht Sentenced to Imprisonment and Additional Penalties

The judiciary of the Islamic Republic has sentenced two Baha'i citizens residing in Rasht, named Shiva Kashani-Nejad and Mojgan Samimi, to imprisonment, a monetary fine, and deprivation of social rights. According to human rights sources, the third branch of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, presided over by Mehdi Rasakhi, has sentenced these two citizens to two years and one day of imprisonment, a fine of 80 million and 10 thousand tomans, and five years and one day of deprivation of social rights. The report from the Iran Human Rights Organization states that Shiva Kashani-Nejad, a piano teacher, and Mojgan Samimi have been accused of 'educational activities and promoting matters related to the Baha'i faith,' and their sentence was communicated on August 18. According to this report, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards raided the homes of these two Baha'i women in July of last year, confiscating their personal belongings and those of their family members, and arrested them. They were released about a month later after posting bail of 600 million tomans each from the Lakan Prison in Rasht. The report from the Iran Human Rights Organization mentions Mehdi Rasakhi, the head of the third branch of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, as one of the 'most well-known human rights violators in Iran,' noting that in June 2023, he sentenced Anisa Samian, the daughter of Shiva Kashani-Nejad, and Vasal Momtazi, her son-in-law, to a total of nine years and six months of imprisonment due to their belief in the Baha'i faith. Recently, three Baha'i citizens residing in Isfahan, named Arshia Rouhani, Hamid Manzavi, and Arash Nabavi, were each sentenced to two years in prison, a monetary fine, and additional penalties by the appellate court in that province. Since the 1979 revolution, Baha'i citizens in Iran have systematically faced executions, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries. According to the annual report of the 'International Religious Freedom Commission' from last year, the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization by the Iranian government against Baha'i citizens have intensified. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also expressed concern over the increased pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Baha'is. Furthermore, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has previously reported that over the past several decades, the Islamic Republic has systematically targeted Baha'is, Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and non-religious individuals for harassment, arrests, long-term imprisonment, exile, or prohibition from participating in political and social activities. Three Baha'i citizens in the Isfahan appellate court were sentenced to prison, monetary fines, and a ban on leaving Iran. The Baha'i community reports that the Baha'i cemetery in Ahvaz was set on fire. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic has issued indictments against ten Baha'i women in Isfahan on charges of 'teaching contrary to Islamic law.'