Continued Persecution of Religious Minorities in Iran | Bahai Citizen Sentenced to 5 Years Prison and Asset Seizure
In continuation of the persecution of Bahai citizens in Iran, Kamran Shahidi, a Bahai citizen residing in Karaj, has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court.
According to reports published on social media, this Bahai citizen was sentenced in recent days by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Moghisseh, to 5 years imprisonment, confiscation of working capital including two kilograms of gold, amounts of money, coins and dollars valued at 300 million tomans, for “making jewelry with the names of God engraved on them.”
Kamran Shahidi was arrested on September 25, 2017 by Ministry of Intelligence officers and was released from Evin Prison approximately three weeks after his arrest on bail pending completion of legal proceedings.
According to published reports, the workplace of this Bahai citizen has been sealed by the Ministry of Intelligence for over two years.
The Islamic Republic’s treatment of Bahai citizens has a long history, and this is not the first time that Bahai citizens have been arrested and sentenced to judicial rulings such as lengthy prison terms.
Previously, Ardeshir Fanaian, Yalda Firouzian, and Behnam Eskandarian, Bahai citizens residing in Semnan, who were arrested by security forces on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, were sentenced approximately six months after their arrest by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Semnan, presided over by Mohammad Ali Rostami, to a combined 20 years imprisonment, a sentence that was reduced to 12 years by the appeals court in Semnan.
Ali Ahmadi, a Bahai citizen residing in Qaemshahr, who was previously arrested by security forces at his home in late November 2018 and subsequently released on Wednesday, January 2, 2019 on bail of 150 million tomans pending completion of legal proceedings, was sentenced by the Qaemshahr Revolutionary Court to 11 years imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the system,” with the verdict communicated to him on Monday, November 2.
Recently, representatives of 33 countries, including the United States, on Friday, November 8, during the periodic session reviewing the human rights situation in Iran, criticized violations of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, including Bahai citizens 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.
Javaid Rehman, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also stated in August of this year in his second report on the human rights situation in Iran that while the Islamic Republic no longer executes Bahais solely because of their religious beliefs, the danger of raids, arrests, and imprisonment of Bahais continues to exist, and since August 2005, more than 1,168 Bahais have been arrested and faced vague and ambiguous charges.
Source: Voice of America
