Arrest of Baha'i citizen Keyvan Rahimian by the Ministry of Intelligence
Baha'i citizen Keyvan Rahimian was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and transferred to Evin Prison.
According to published news, Keyvan Rahimian, a Baha'i citizen and former prisoner of conscience, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence at his home in Tehran on Tuesday, July 18. After searching his home and seizing some of his personal belongings and a cell phone, the officers transferred him to Evin Prison to file a legal case.
Since his transfer to the investigation branch of Tehran's 33rd District Prosecutor's Office to be explained the initial charges, no information has been available about him. He only briefly called his daughter Zina to inform her that he had been transferred to Evin Prison.
Keyvan Rahimian had previously been sentenced to prison for his activities at the Baha'i Virtual University of Iran after being arrested and going through legal proceedings. He was released in September 2017 upon completion of his prison term.
International human rights organizations have repeatedly protested the repression, the application of security and judicial pressure, and the lack of judicial transparency in the trial process of political-security defendants and defendants of conscience, and have strongly condemned the government's harsh treatment of citizens of conscience in their annual reports.
It should be noted that, according to the directive of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution approved on March 28, 1980, Baha'i citizens are deprived of any citizenship rights and are faced with various human rights violations and violent behaviors by the government of the Islamic Republic.
