Azita Rafizadeh, a lecturer at the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, was released from Evin Prison after completing her sentence.
Azita Rafizadeh, a Baha'i citizen and one of the instructors at the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, who was imprisoned four years ago on charges of "acting against national security," was released from Evin Prison after serving her sentence.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Azita Rafizadeh, who was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of "acting against national security" through what was called illegal activity at the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, was released from Evin Prison on Wednesday, October 8, after serving her sentence.
This Baha'i citizen was arrested in early June 2011 along with his wife, Peyman Koushkbaghi, when security forces went to their home. During the arrest of these two Baha'i citizens, security forces searched their home and confiscated a number of their personal belongings, including books, pamphlets, CDs, laptops, and computer hard drives.
According to the published report, Ms. Rafizadeh and her husband were temporarily released after a while, after taking a pledge to cease cooperation with the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education and posting a bail of 50 million Tomans, pending the completion of the investigation.
Azita Rafizadeh's trial was held in June 2014 in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Moghiseh, and this Baha'i citizen was sentenced to four years in prison on the charge of "membership in an illegal Baha'i organization with the aim of acting against the security of the country through illegal activity at the Educational Institution (BIHE)."
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Azita Rafizadeh, who earned her master's degree in computer engineering from the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE), began her work as a computer instructor at the institution in 2002.
According to available information, the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education is an unofficial university in Iran that was established in 1987 by the Baha'i community of Iran. The goal of this non-face-to-face educational institution is to educate Baha'i youth who have been denied access to Iranian universities solely because of their religious beliefs. Currently, Baha'i citizens can continue their studies in 38 fields of study at the associate, bachelor's, and master's levels at this university.
The Baha'i Institute of Higher Education continues to operate in Iran despite the Islamic Republic declaring it illegal. According to the US State Department's annual report on religious freedom, Baha'is are prohibited from having their own educational institutions, Baha'i students are banned from studying in universities, and if their religion is discovered after graduation, they are expelled from the university.
According to reports published in human rights media, this year a number of Baha'i citizens were denied entry to universities, despite passing university entrance exams, as in previous years, on various pretexts, including "defects in their files," and contrary to the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Last year, at least 58 Baha'i students who were accepted into the national entrance exam were faced with the phrase "file defect" when they tried to register. In fact, Baha'is are barred from continuing their studies at university, except in certain cases, unless they hide or deny their adherence to Baha'i faith.
Not long ago, Education Minister Mohsen Haji Mirzaei said on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting that if students state that they follow religions other than the country's official religions and their actions are considered a form of propaganda, their education in schools will be prohibited.
Part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the Iranian government is also required to follow, deals with the right to education; Article 26 of this declaration states that access to higher education should be equal for all individuals and based on individual merit.
International human rights organizations and the United States Department of State have repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic government's treatment of Baha'is and violations of their civil rights.
In the Iran section of the US State Department's annual report on religious freedom in the world, it is stated that in Iran, Baha'is are prohibited from having their own educational institutions, Baha'i students are prohibited from studying in universities, and if their religion is discovered after graduation, they are expelled from the university.
Source: Voice of America
