Ruhollah Zibai, Bahai Citizen, Released from Karaj Central Prison

Ruhollah Zibai, a Bahai citizen, was released today, Wednesday, December 3rd, from Karaj Central Prison due to his physical health conditions, which were deemed incompatible with serving his sentence. Mr. Zibai was arrested yesterday by security forces at his home in Baghestan, Karaj, and transferred to prison to serve his four-month sentence. Due to shrapnel fragments remaining in his body from the Iran-Iraq War, amputation of one leg, missing one kidney, a perforated eardrum, severe pulmonary embolism, and blockage of two coronary arteries, he requires continuous medical treatment and care.

According to the HRANA news agency, the news outlet of the human rights activists collective in Iran, Ruhollah Zibai, a Bahai citizen, was released from Karaj Central Prison today, Wednesday, December 3rd, 1399 [Islamic calendar].

After four months, Mr. Zibai can proceed with efforts to secure his bail release. According to an informed source, judicial officials in Karaj have informed prison authorities that they have agreed to exempting this Bahai citizen from serving his sentence due to his physical health problems.

Mr. Zibai was arrested yesterday by security forces at his home in Baghestan, Karaj and transferred to Karaj Central Prison to serve his detention.

Ruhollah Zibai was arrested on August 3rd, 2019 by security forces at his home in Baghestan, Karaj and transferred to one of the solitary cells in Ward 8 of Karaj Rajaei Shahr Prison, known as IRGC Intelligence Detention Center. Following his arrest, officers conducted a search of his home and confiscated his mobile phone and personal computer. He was ultimately released in September 2019 on bail pending the completion of legal proceedings.

The court hearing regarding the charges against Mr. Zibai and three others in his case was held on January 18th, 1399 without the presence of their chosen lawyers at the First Branch of Karaj Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Asaf al-Hosseini. Mr. Zibai was convicted in this case of “propaganda activities against the system for the benefit of the deviant Bahai sect” and sentenced to one year in prison. This verdict was ultimately confirmed as is by the Alborz Province Court of Appeals in April of this year. Following the pursuits of his defense lawyer, the case was referred back to the Alborz Province Court of Appeals, and the sentence was reduced to four months in prison.

Previously, an informed source regarding the situation of this Bahai citizen told HRANA: “Mr. Zibai has 381 stitches in his body, is missing his left leg below the knee, missing one kidney, and has a broken shoulder blade with weakened nerves that are essentially non-functional, and his right leg has no skin. As a result of injuries sustained in an accident, blood clots entered his lungs causing pulmonary embolism; he has respiratory difficulties and is under medical supervision. He spent 16 months of his military service during the Iran-Iraq War on the southern front and was wounded three times in Dezful, Susangerd, and Ahvaz, losing an eardrum in an explosion blast. However, due to being Bahai, he was not covered by the Martyrs and Veterans Foundation. With this physical condition and disability, his only activity was in WhatsApp and Telegram networks among his Bahai friends, yet he was arrested for one month in solitary confinement on charges of propaganda against the system, and during this time, due to poor prison food, he abstained from eating lunch and dinner. Now he has been sentenced to one year in prison. He is the father of two daughters named Roya and Ruha, who were arrested in 2011 by security forces for holding a religious prayer session at their home. They were released after some time and ultimately were forced to leave the country due to loss of employment (closure of workplace) and security problems.”

Mr. Zibai again faced a new case in the summer of this year at the Second Branch of Karaj Islamic Revolutionary Court.

It should be noted that Ruhollah Zibai’s home was previously searched by security forces in December 2010 with personal items confiscated, and he himself was summoned.

Bahai citizens in Iran are deprived of freedoms related to religious beliefs. This systematic deprivation occurs despite Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which state that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to change religion and the freedom to express it individually or collectively, publicly or privately.

Source: HRANA