Heavy bail for the release of a Baha'i citizen from Evin Prison
A Baha'i citizen living in Tehran was released from Evin Prison on bail of 1.2 billion Tomans pending trial.
According to the HRANA website, which publishes Iranian human rights news, Mehrdad Heyrani, a Baha'i citizen who was arrested in Ordibehesht, was released from Evin Prison on Sunday, August 11, after three months of detention, after posting a hefty bail.
Mr. Heyrani was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents at the home of a friend in Karaj. The agents then went to his own home and, after searching it, confiscated his personal belongings, books, and computer. The Baha’i citizen has been granted a hefty bail while the charges against him have not yet been announced.
In recent months, there have been numerous reports of arrests, deprivation of education, and attacks on Baha'i shops in Iran, indicating that pressure on Baha'is in Iran continues.
The United States government has strongly condemned the Islamic Republic's pressure on religious minorities, including the Baha'is. In his July 21 speech to Iranians living in the United States, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the threats and pressure against minorities, saying that minorities, such as the Baha'is and other religions and beliefs, are being suppressed in Iran and fear that their every prayer will be their last.
The US State Department, in its annual International Religious Freedom Report on the Status of Baha'is in Iran, wrote that Baha'is are the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran. The government does not recognize them and has deprived them of their political, economic, cultural, and religious rights.
According to the same report, over a thousand Baha'is have been arbitrarily arrested over the past ten years.
Source: Voice of America
