Vahid Tizfahm, a Leader of the Baha'i Community in Iran, Released from Prison After 10 Years

Vahid Tizfahm, one of the leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran, was released from prison after serving a decade of his sentence. Mr. Tizfahm was freed on Tuesday, March 19, from Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. In recent days, several leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran who were imprisoned during a raid by security forces in 2008 have been released after completing their sentences. Vahid Tizfahm and six others, including Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Shahriari, Afif Naimi, Jamaleddin Khanjani, Saeed Rezaei, and Behrouz Tavakoli, were arrested nearly 10 years ago. The Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Moghiseh, sentenced these individuals to 20 years in prison on charges of 'propaganda against the regime,' 'espionage,' and 'conspiracy against national security.' This sentence was later reduced to half in an appeals court. Not only have the detained Baha'is denied these charges, but the issuance and enforcement of these sentences have repeatedly faced criticism and protests from human rights groups, several governments, and UN experts and observers. For instance, Human Rights Watch, in one of its latest reports on Iran, accused Iranian security and judicial forces of 'human rights violations,' stating that 92 Baha'i believers are currently imprisoned. The organization 'Freedom House' also recently reported that the Iranian government is 'severely' opposing Baha'is and other citizens who hold different beliefs, including unofficial interpretations of Islam. At the end of Bahman, a number of lawyers, university professors, and human rights defenders wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Iranian Judiciary, urging him to 'acknowledge the harassment and repression of Baha'is' and 'take action to improve the current situation.' Despite this, reports regarding the detention of Baha'is in Iran continue. For example, on February 15, the global Baha'i community based in Geneva reported the arrest of seven Baha'i citizens residing in Bushehr. Before Mr. Tizfahm was released on Tuesday after serving 10 years of his sentence, Saeed Rezaei, Jamaleddin Khanjani, Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabat, and Behrouz Tavakoli, among others from the 'Yaran' group, were also released in recent weeks and months after completing their prison terms. Vahid Tizfahm was born in 1973 in Urmia. His father, a Baha'i from Urmia, was arrested when Vahid was 9 years old and, as Mr. Tizfahm himself stated, 'executed with three gunshots' in Urmia prison.