A report on the latest situation of Maryam Leghaei and Mitra Forsatipour, Baha'i citizens in Evin Prison
Maryam Leghaei and Mitra Forsatipour, Baha’i citizens, have been serving their sentences in the women’s ward of Evin Prison since early August of this year. Ms. Leghaei and Ms. Forsatipour were previously sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to 3 months and 1 year in prison, respectively.
According to HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Maryam Leghaei and Mitra Forsatipour, Baha'i citizens, have been serving their sentences in the women's ward of Evin Prison since early August of this year.
Mitra Forsatipour and Maryam Laghaei, Baha’i citizens living in Gilavand, Damavand County, were arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on October 19 and 20, 2019, respectively, and transferred to the agency’s detention center, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison. During their arrest, their homes were searched and officers confiscated and took away a number of their personal belongings, including laptops, cell phones, and cameras. They were eventually released from prison after completing their interrogation.
Mitra Forsatipour and Maryam Leghaie were later sentenced to 1 year and 3 months of imprisonment, respectively, by one of the branches of the Revolutionary Court on charges of propaganda activities against the regime.
It should be noted that during 2017, the body of Mitra Forsatipour's grandmother was exhumed in the Gilavand Baha'i Cemetery (Golestan Javid) by unknown individuals, bringing the number of exhumations of deceased Baha'i graves to two.
Gilavand is a district of Damavand County and is located on the Tehran-Firozkouh road.
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.
HRANA previously reported on July 5th of this year, describing the situation in the women's ward of Evin Prison, introducing the prisoners residing in this ward, and providing a map of the different floors of this ward for a better understanding of this place.
Source: HRANA
