Arrest of Four Jewish Citizens by Security Authorities
Four Jewish citizens were arrested by security authorities in Shiraz and Tehran.
Following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel and the subsequent ceasefire declaration, many citizens including Christians, civil activists, Jews, and ordinary people have been arrested by security and intelligence forces on charges of collaboration with Israel and espionage.
According to reports published on social networks, four Jewish citizens named “Kamran Hakamati,” “Michael,” “Navid Ron,” and “Shahab Yousefi” have been arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence forces in Tehran and Shiraz and are being held in detention facilities of this security organization.
These citizens, who were arrested in recent days, remain in an uncertain situation and no information has been released regarding the details of their cases and the charges against them. Two of these citizens who were arrested in Shiraz are currently being held at Plaque 100 detention facility of the Intelligence Organization.
Although no charges have yet been formally raised against them, keeping an Israeli flag in their homes is one of the items documented in the case files of these Jewish citizens, despite the fact that they themselves are Jewish citizens and possessing the flag of their country is not considered a crime.
Another of these citizens named Kamran Hakamati, who recently traveled to Iran to visit relatives, was arrested by security forces due to his travel to Israel over the past seven years and is being held in the Tehran Ministry of Intelligence detention facility. He is an Iranian-American Jewish citizen known by the name Judah and is approximately 70 years old.
Another citizen named Michael was also arrested in Tehran and is being held in the Ministry of Intelligence detention facility. According to reports published by individuals close to him, he is scheduled to appear at his final interrogation session on Wednesday, the 15th of Mordad, but no details regarding the charges against him are yet available.
According to a law passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 2011, travel by Iranians to Israel and individuals who hold Iranian citizenship will result in two to five years of imprisonment and several years of deprivation from obtaining a passport, a law that also applies to Iran’s Jewish community, who are prohibited from making phone or internet contact with their families in Israel.
Although Iran officially recognizes Jews as one of the religious minorities and allows them to practice their religion and hold religious ceremonies, it opposes the Zionist regime as an independent country and state. While the Islamic Republic regime guarantees the rights of religious minorities including Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, according to human rights experts’ reports, recent security pressures against minority communities have significantly increased. These pressures are considered instances of ethnic and religious discrimination that are in direct contradiction with Iran’s international commitments.
