The business premises of six Baha'i citizens in Ghaemshahr have been sealed. Earlier, the Yazd Provincial Court of Appeal sentenced four Baha'i citizens to a total of 32 months in prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, the business premises of six Baha'i citizens in Ghaemshahr were sealed by officials from the Property Management Department on Monday, November 7, 1402. This action was taken following a two-day religious holiday for Baha'is.
The names of the citizens whose businesses have been sealed are: Nima Noakhah, from the doll and children's toy distribution unit, Nabet Asadi, from the eyeglass repair unit, Soheil Babaei, from the sanitary equipment unit, Kourosh Rezaei, from the refrigerator and air conditioner repair unit, Maziar Abbasi, from the paint and building materials unit, and Mr. Akbari, from the welding and ironwork unit.
In 2015, the businesses of a number of Baha'i citizens in Mazandaran Province, including the Baha'is of Ghaemshahr, were sealed by order of the Office of the Public Places. It is said that some of these businesses have still been prevented from reopening despite the passage of six years.
Prison sentences for four Baha'i citizens
HRANA News Agency had previously reported that Branch 11 of the Yazd Provincial Court of Appeals had sentenced Amin Zolfaghari, Mahboobeh Misaghian, Mitra Bandi Amirabadi, and Hiva Yazdan Mehdiabadi to eight months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”
HRANA wrote that these citizens were sentenced to a total of 13 years and four months in prison in the first instance by the Second Branch of the Yazd Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Reza Javad Mousavi, on charges of “membership in groups opposed to the regime and propaganda against the regime.” In the appeal stage, these individuals were acquitted of the charge of membership in groups opposed to the regime.
Amin Zolfaghari was arrested by Yazd Intelligence Department agents on June 1, 2020, and transferred to the city's prison. On July 22 of the same year, he was temporarily released from Yazd Prison after posting bail until the end of the trial.
Ms. Misaghian was arrested by security forces on June 3, 2020, and released on bail on June 17 of the same year.
Mitra Bandi Amirabadi and Hiva Yazdan Mehdiabadi were also arrested by security forces on June 1, 2020, and were finally released from the Yazd Intelligence Department detention center on September 1 of the same year after three months of temporary detention on bail pending the completion of the trial. These Baha'i citizens have also had previous arrests and convictions.
Hiva Yazdani Mehdiabadi (Behi Far) was arrested by security forces in December 2017 for “teaching music to children” and transferred to Yazd Prison. She was released from prison on January 24 of the same year after posting bail.
According to HRANA, an informed source explained to this human rights agency regarding the previous sentence of these citizens: "Ms. Bandi Amirabadi and Ms. Yazdan Mehdiabadi were previously arrested together and were ultimately sentenced to suspended imprisonment by the court. The term of this sentence also expired some time ago."
Source: DW
