Summons and interrogation of 4 Baha'i citizens in Gorgan
HRANA News Agency – Shafaq Fahandezh, Shaghayegh Pour-Enayati, Hoda Kanani, and Neda Abdian, Baha’i citizens living in Gorgan, were interrogated for several hours after being summoned by telephone to the city’s intelligence department.
According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, on Wednesday, September 6, 1402, four Baha'i citizens living in Gorgan were interrogated for several hours at the city's intelligence department.
An informed source told HRANA in this regard: “Three of these Baha’i citizens, Shafaq Fahandej, Shaghayegh Pour-Enayati, and Hoda Kanani (Samimi), who are active in the field of music, were asked to pledge that they would no longer be active in this field, and Neda Abdian (Taifi) was also asked to not be active in the field of kindergartens. This is despite the fact that she is not active in kindergartens.”
These citizens were summoned to the Gorgan Intelligence Department by telephone and interrogated for 9 hours.
On Sunday, August 29, 2019, the homes of Shafaq Fahandezh, Shaghayegh Pour-Enayati, and Hoda Kanaani were searched by security forces, along with the homes of dozens of other Baha'i citizens in Iran.
Baha'i citizens in Iran are deprived of freedoms related to religious beliefs. This systematic deprivation occurs despite the fact that, according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of religion and to change their religion with conviction, as well as the freedom to manifest it, either individually or in community with others and in public or in private.
According to unofficial sources, there are more than 300,000 Baha'is in Iran, but the Iranian constitution only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not recognize the Baha'i religion. For this reason, the rights of Baha'is in Iran have been systematically violated over the past years.
Source: HRANA
