Shahnaz Sabet, Bahai Citizen, Transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz to Serve Her Sentence

Shahnaz Sabet, a Bahai citizen residing in Shiraz, was arrested on the morning of Monday, September 12, and transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz to serve her sentence. Ms. Sabet was previously sentenced to 6 years imprisonment by the Shiraz Revolutionary Court, and this sentence was reduced to 2 years in the appellate review stage.

According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the Iranian Human Rights Activists Network, on the morning of Monday, September 12, 1399, Shahnaz Sabet, a Bahai citizen residing in Shiraz, was arrested and transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz to serve her sentence.

Shahnaz Sabet was arrested by security forces at her private residence in Shiraz on June 1, 1398, and was temporarily released after posting bail pending the completion of legal proceedings. Before the arrest, officials searched her residence, confiscated some of her personal belongings, and took them away.

The court hearing regarding Ms. Sabet’s charges along with several other Bahai citizens was held on Sunday, May 11, 1399. Ms. Sabet was ultimately sentenced in late May of this year by the first branch of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati, to 6 years of imprisonment on charges of propaganda activities against the system and membership in groups opposed to the system.

After objecting to the verdict, Ms. Sabet’s case was referred to the appellate court, and in late July of this year, the appellate court of Fars Province sentenced her to 2 years of imprisonment.

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, and the freedom to change religion, as well as the freedom to express these beliefs individually or collectively, either publicly or in private.

Based on unofficial sources in Iran, there are more than 300,000 Bahais, but Iran’s constitution only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not officially recognize the Bahai faith. For this reason, the rights of Bahais in Iran have been systematically violated over the years.

Source: Hrana