Security Agencies Oppose Transfer of Bahai Prisoner to Hospital
“Vahid Khalousi,” a Bahai prisoner who has spent more than three years of his sentence in prison, is being denied leave and hospital transfer despite poor physical condition and need for medical care.
A source close to Vahid Khalousi’s family said on Monday, December 10, in an interview with Voice of America that Mr. Khalousi was convicted on charges of assembly and conspiracy against national security, propaganda for Bahaism, and membership in human rights organizations. Judge Moghadaseh sentenced him to five years in prison, and he is currently serving his sentence in Ward 4, Section 11 of Rajaei Shahr Prison.
The informed source told Voice of America that Vahid Khalousi’s family has repeatedly applied to the prosecutor’s office for medical furlough for him, but each time they have been told that security agencies do not approve of the request.
According to him, after Vahid Khalousi was barred from studying at university, he filed several legal complaints and sent them to the National Organization for Educational Testing, Parliament, the then President, and the Article 90 Commission. Subsequently, in September 2011, he was arrested at Evin Prison while seeking explanations, and after 23 days in solitary confinement, he was released on bail pending completion of the case file and holding of a court hearing.
Vahid Khalousi was previously arrested in September 2012 when he went to Tabriz to support victims of the Tabriz earthquake and spent 2 months in Tabriz Prison.
This is not the first time a Bahai citizen has been arrested over the issue of the right to education. This past summer, dozens of Bahai citizens were denied admission to universities.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned violations of the rights of religious minorities and harassment of their followers in Iran.
Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, in a speech last October, called the Iranian government an example of trampling on the rights of religious minorities.
Source: Voice of America
