Four Baha'i citizens sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison by the Kerman Provincial Court of Appeal
The 20-year prison sentences of Ehsanollah Amirinia, Nima Rajabzadeh, Armanbandi Amirabad, and Amrollah (Amarollah) Khaleqian, four Baha'i citizens residing in Kerman Province, which were previously issued by the Kerman Revolutionary Court, were reduced by the provincial appeals court.
According to the Human Rights in Iran website, the 20-year prison sentence of these Baha'i citizens, which was previously issued to them by the First Branch of the Kerman Revolutionary Court on the charge of "acting against the security of the country by propagating Baha'iism," was reduced to 16 months in prison on Wednesday, February 2, by a ruling issued by Branch 1 of the Kerman Provincial Court of Appeal.
According to this report and based on the issued verdict, the court, citing Articles 37 and 38 of the Islamic Penal Code with a 2-degree reduction, reduced the sentence issued against these four Baha'i citizens from 5 years for each of them to 4 months in prison for each of them.
The Human Rights in Iran website also announced that the hearing of the case of these Baha'i citizens at the appeal stage was held on May 28, presided over by court advisors Mohammad Mohaqeq and Majid Zain al-Dininia.
According to this report, Amrollah Khalegian was arrested on January 2, 2016, and Ehsan Amirinia, Nima Rajabzadeh, and Armanbandi Amirabad were arrested in their homes by security agents on February 10, 2016, and were temporarily released from Kerman Prison in June 2017 after posting bail pending the completion of the trial.
The Islamic Republic's treatment of Baha'i citizens has a long history, and this is not the first time that a Baha'i citizen has been arrested and sentenced to judicial sentences solely for believing in the Baha'i faith.
Previously, the 11-year prison sentence of Ali Ahmadi Baha'i, a resident of Qaemshahr, which was previously issued by the Qaemshahr Revolutionary Court on charges of "propaganda against the regime" and "managing the Baha'i administrative organization," was upheld by Branch Two of the Mazandaran Provincial Court of Appeal.
Recently, on Friday, November 8, representatives of 33 countries, including the United States, criticized the violation of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, including Baha'i citizens, in a periodic meeting to review the human rights situation in Iran, and called on the Iranian government to respect their rights.
International human rights organizations and the United States government have repeatedly condemned the persecution and imprisonment of followers of religious minorities in Iran.
Javed Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, also said in his second report on the human rights situation in Iran in August of this year that the Islamic Republic no longer executes Baha'is solely for their religious beliefs, but the risk of raids, arrests, and imprisonment is constant, and since August 2005, more than 1,168 Baha'is have been arrested and faced with vague and ambiguous charges.
Source: Voice of America
