Intensified Pressure on Religious Minorities in Iran; Two Baha’i Citizens Transferred to Prison to Serve Sentences

In continuation of a wave of pressure on Iran’s minorities, Iman Rashidi and Arslan Yazdani, Baha’i citizens, were arrested in recent days and transferred to prison to serve their detention sentences. These two cases have occurred as human rights reports indicate an increase in arrests, summonses, home raids, and judicial sentences against Baha’is and other minorities in Iran, with the global Baha’i community stating that dozens of members of this religious minority are currently in prison or detention.

Two Baha’i citizens named Iman Rashidi in Yazd and Arslan Yazdani in Karaj were arrested on August 22 and 23, 2026, respectively, to serve their prison sentences.

According to published reports, Iman Rashidi was arrested on Sunday, August 23, after visiting the first branch of the Yazd Revolutionary Court’s sentence execution office and was transferred to the central prison of the city. The Hrana news agency has also confirmed his transfer to Yazd prison to serve his sentence.

Rashidi had previously been sentenced in a legal case on charges including “propaganda activities against the system” and “deviant propaganda activities contrary to the sacred Islamic law” to three years, six months, and one day of discretionary imprisonment. In addition to imprisonment, he was also sentenced to 15 years of deprivation of social rights and payment of 371 million rials in fines.

According to human rights sources, Rashidi was also arrested by Yazd intelligence officers in October 2023 and was released on bail after several months. Hengaw has also reported that his interrogation and trial proceedings took place without access to a lawyer. Rashidi had previously been arrested and convicted due to activities related to the Baha’i community.

One day before Rashidi’s transfer to prison, 43-year-old Arslan Yazdani, a Baha’i citizen residing in Karaj, was arrested during a security forces raid on his home. Security forces, while arresting Yazdani, also searched his house and confiscated a number of electronic devices belonging to family members. He was then transferred to Tehran’s large prison, known as Fashafuyeh, to serve his sentence.

Hrana had also reported Yazdani’s arrest on August 22. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center has also written in a report on this case that security forces confiscated mobile phones and a laptop during the arrest.

Yazdani had previously been sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “membership in Baha’i organizations” and one year of imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda against the system.” According to regulations regarding the consolidation of sentences, five years of this conviction were enforceable; however, the appeals court in December 2023 reduced his imprisonment period to three years. He had previously been arrested in September 2021 by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was later released on bail.

The coincidence of these two cases with several other instances of arrest and conviction of Baha’is has increased concerns about the continuation of organized pressure on this religious community. Hengaw has also recently reported the arrest of several Baha’i women in Sari. According to this report, security forces searched a number of homes and confiscated some personal and electronic items. Regarding some of these individuals, officers had search warrants, but according to Hengaw, the permits issued did not necessarily include authorization for arrest.

These reports indicate that the cases of Rashidi and Yazdani are part of a broader process that has once again drawn the attention of human rights organizations to the situation of minority communities in Iran.

In a report published on August 19 by Iran Wire, citing information from the global Baha’i community, it stated: “As of August 14, 55 Baha’is, including 31 women and 24 men, have been in detention or prison in Iran due to their beliefs.”

The same report states that more than 21 others were serving their sentences outside of prison under electronic monitoring or on furlough. These individuals are held in prisons, detention centers of the Ministry of Intelligence, facilities affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and undisclosed locations.

Furthermore, cases of physical and psychological abuse, prolonged interrogations, solitary confinement, beating, forced confessions, and deprivation of adequate medical treatment have been raised in various cases of Baha’is. These cases highlight human rights reports about the intensification of pressure on these religious minorities in Iran.

This process has not only been raised by Iranian non-governmental organizations or human rights media. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, in April 2026, within the framework of this organization’s special mechanisms, contacted the government of the Islamic Republic regarding allegations related to arbitrary arrest, disappearance, torture or cruel and degrading treatment, extraction of forced confessions, and detention of members of minority communities in Iran.

In this official communication, the cases of seven specific individuals were raised, and the United Nations expressed concern about the situation of some of them, including claims that their lives were at risk.

The United Nations had previously warned about the increase in systematic targeting of Baha’is, including arrests, summonses for interrogation, disappearances, and home raids. In one of its official communications in 2024, the cases of 47 Baha’i women in several Iranian cities came under the attention of United Nations human rights experts.

The Baha’i community is not recognized by the Islamic Republic as one of the recognized religious minorities in its constitution. The International Commission on Religious Freedom of the United States in its 2026 report stated that conditions for religious freedom in Iran remain highly unfavorable and the government intensified systematic pressure on religious minorities, including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Sufis, and Sunnis in 2025.

This commission, in the section on Baha’is, referred to matters such as home raids, arrests, confiscation of property, and issuance of prison sentences. It also reported economic discrimination against Baha’i business owners and the closure of some of their business units.

Thus, pressure on Baha’is is not limited to judicial prosecution and can extend to areas such as education, employment, economic activity, and social life. Recent cases have been raised in circumstances where arrest and imprisonment of Baha’is have a long history in the Islamic Republic.

The American Commission on International Religious Freedom in its database of prisoners of conscience has recorded multiple cases of Baha’is who have been arrested and convicted in recent years due to their beliefs or religious activities. For example, in one case, a Baha’i citizen faced a prison sentence due to educational and religious activities.

This process has continued in 2026. Reports indicate the existence of multiple cases in cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan, Babol, and Tehran in which Baha’is have faced arrest, conviction, or other deprivations.

The arrests of Iman Rashidi and Arslan Yazdani appear on the surface to be two separate legal cases, but their timing and coincidence with a new wave of arrests of Baha’is has once again drawn attention to the situation of this religious minority in Iran.

Rashidi was arrested after reporting to the sentence execution office and went to Yazd prison to serve his sentence; Yazdani was also arrested during a security forces raid on his home and transferred to Tehran’s large prison.

In both cases, judicial charges are connected to the religious or social activities of these two Baha’i citizens; a matter that has also been raised in reports by international human rights organizations as one of the patterns of continued pressure on the Baha’i community of Iran.

Given the increase in cases of arrest and conviction in recent months, the cases of these two citizens cannot be considered merely two isolated instances. What can be gleaned by reviewing reports from international organizations is a picture of the continuation of judicial and security pressure on a community that has faced religious and social restrictions in Iran for years.

These developments also have special significance for the Christian community and other religious minorities; since freedom of religion and conscience is a universal right, and its restriction for one religious community can be indicative of broader restrictions on freedom of thought in a country.