Yekta Fahandj, a Bahá'í citizen, released from prison on bail

According to reports, Yekta Fahandj Saadi, a Bahá'í citizen, was released from Adelabad Prison in Shiraz on Saturday, May 22, after posting bail. The website HRANA, the news organ of human rights activists in Iran, reported that this Bahá'í citizen's release was contingent upon the posting of bail. Earlier this year, in the early days of the year, Mona, Yekta Fahandj's sister, had told Voice of America in an exclusive message that despite the arrival of Nowruz and 'despite the family's tireless efforts' for the release of this political prisoner, he remained in detention. In that message, she stated that 'this year, despite the family's relentless efforts for temporary release, Yekta is spending his fourth Nowruz in prison.' According to Mona Fahandj, the 'pressures' on Yekta Fahandj during this detention were 'much greater' than in previous arrests, 'to the extent that during the 9 weeks' he had only contacted his family very limitedly twice. Yekta Fahandj Saadi, a Bahá'í prisoner in Shiraz, was arrested on December 18 of last year and transferred to Adelabad Prison in Fars Province on February 19. Since his arrest, he has been in limbo and in 'temporary detention.' Bahá'í citizens are among the largest non-Muslim religious minorities in Iran and have been systematically persecuted since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. According to the annual report of 'International Religious Freedom' for the year 2022, prepared and published by the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom, the repression, violence, discrimination, and social stigmatization by the Islamic Republic against members of the Bahá'í community in Iran have intensified. Exclusive; Yekta Fahandj's family is concerned about his health status amid the ongoing temporary detention of this Bahá'í citizen. Exclusive; Yekta Fahandj Saadi is in limbo in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. Yekta Fahandj's family told Voice of America: More than 50 days have passed since his arrest. Five weeks of uncertainty in Shiraz's intelligence detention center; the charges against Yekta Fahandj Saadi are still unclear. Exclusive; 10 days of uncertainty regarding Yekta Fahandj Saadi's status after his arrest in Shiraz.