Two More Baha’is Sentenced to Prison in Iran
Reports from Iran indicate that two more Baha’is have been sentenced to imprisonment. Among the charges against them are listed “paying tuition for a language class for an Afghan national” and writing the phrase: “The people of this region are in need of education.”
According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists in Iran network, on Thursday, the 22nd of Bahman, Sophia Mabini and Negin Tadrisi were sentenced by the Tehran Revolution Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Reza Amoozad, to five years imprisonment each on the charge of “actions against national security through managing Baha’i organizations and promoting Baha’i teachings.”
These two Baha’is were arrested on the 4th of Aban in 1396 (2017) during ceremonies commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of Baha’u’llah, the Prophet of the Baha’i faith, by officers of the Ministry of Intelligence. They were later temporarily released after posting bail.
In the primary court proceeding presided over by Judge Moghadasi, Sophia Mabini and Negin Tadrisi were sentenced to 10 and 5 years respectively on the charge of “membership in an illegal Baha’i group with the aim of undermining national security.”
In the ruling issued by Judge Moghadasi, the specific charges against these citizens were listed as “paying tuition for a language class for an Afghan national, providing behavioral, sexual, and economic psychological counseling, and writing the phrase in a personal notebook stating that ‘the people of this region are in need of education.'”
The Islamic Republic of Iran does not officially recognize the Baha’i faith, and Iranian authorities have repeatedly called Baha’is “spies and enemies” and have issued death sentences, arrests, imprisonment, and deprivation of education and work against them.
Human rights defenders and international organizations consistently view the widespread detention and severe sentences against Baha’i citizens as “systematic violations” of their rights by the Iranian government and violations of human rights.
Source: Radio Farda
