Sentence of Over 51 Years in Prison Issued for 9 Baha’i Citizens
Nine Baha’i citizens residing in Birjand have been sentenced to a combined total of 51 years and 8 months in prison by the Revolutionary Court of the city.
According to a report by the Iran Human Rights website, these Baha’i citizens, named Roya Molaki, Atallah Molaki, Saeed Molaki, Arzu Mohammadi, Rahmatollah Dimi, Farzaneh Dimi, Nasrin Qaderi, Banafsheh Mokhtari, and Atiyeh Salehi, were sentenced on Tuesday, Ordibehesht 2, by Branch 2 of the Birjand Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hojjat Nabavi, on charges including membership in the Baha’i faith and propaganda in favor of Baha’i organizations. The sentences were notified to them on Wednesday, Ordibehesht 3, through the Judiciary’s notification system.
Based on available information and according to an informed source, the hearing for these Baha’i citizens’ case was held on Ordibehesht 1, and according to the issued verdict, eight of these citizens were sentenced to 6 years in prison. Rahmatollah Dimi was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison due to his advanced age.
According to this report, these Baha’i citizens were arrested on Mehr 29, 1396, during the celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of the Baha’i faith’s prophet, by officials of the intelligence office of Birjand county in South Khorasan province. After a house search and confiscation of personal items, they were later released on bail pending the completion of legal proceedings.
This sentence was issued for these Baha’i citizens at a time when, according to Bani Dugal, the senior representative of the Baha’i community at the United Nations in New York, approximately 50 to 100 Baha’i citizens remain imprisoned in crowded and unsanitary prisons in Iran amid the spread of COVID-19 virus.
According to this representative of the Baha’i community at the United Nations, Iranian Baha’i citizens are more vulnerable than others because their rights have already been trampled on in many ways.
Source: Voice of America
