Three Baha'i citizens were arrested and transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz to execute the sentence.

HRANA News Agency – Sedighe Aghdasi, Behrouz Farzani and Qasem Masoumi, Baha’i citizens living in Shiraz, were arrested today, Monday, March 6, to serve their sentences and transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz. These citizens were arrested after being summoned to the Revolutionary Court under the pretext of some explanations and without being notified of the execution of the sentences. These citizens were sentenced to 39 months of penal servitude each by the Shiraz Revolutionary Court in the first instance. The sentences of Mr. Farzani and Masoumi were confirmed in full in the appeal stage, and 25 months of Ms. Aghdasi’s sentence was suspended.

According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, today, Monday, March 16, 2021, Sedighe Aghdasi, Behrouz Farzani, and Qasem Masoumi, Baha'i citizens living in Shiraz, were arrested and transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz to serve their sentences.

These citizens were arrested after being summoned to Branch 14 of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court under the pretext of some explanation and without notification of the execution of the sentences.

According to a source close to these Baha'i citizens, after appearing in the Revolutionary Court, these three citizens were transferred to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz through the back door of the court without the knowledge of their companions.

These citizens, along with Alia Foroutan, Siamak Honrour, and Saeed Ittehad, were arrested by security forces on April 7 and transferred to solitary confinement in police detention centers under the supervision of the IRGC Intelligence and the Shiraz Ministry of Intelligence detention center. They were finally released on bail in May of this year, temporarily pending the completion of the trial.

In November of this year, these individuals were sentenced by the First Branch of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court to 7 months and 16 days of imprisonment for the charge of propaganda against the regime, and to 31 months and 16 days of imprisonment for the charge of membership in groups hostile to the regime. The convictions of Mr. Farzani and Masoumi were confirmed in full on appeal, and 25 months of the sentences of Ms. Aghdasi and Ms. Forotan were suspended.

Skylar Thompson, external relations officer for the Human Rights Activists in Iran, said in response to the news: "The organization strongly condemns discriminatory practices against religious minorities in Iran. We call on Iran to take concrete steps to ensure that Iranians, especially Baha'i citizens, can enjoy religious freedoms, including the free exercise of their religious beliefs."

Baha'i citizens in Iran are deprived of freedoms related to religious beliefs. This systematic deprivation occurs despite the fact that, according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of religion and to change their religion with conviction, as well as the freedom to manifest it, either individually or in community with others and in public or in private.

According to unofficial sources, there are more than 300,000 Baha'i citizens in Iran, but the Iranian constitution only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not recognize the Baha'i religion. For this reason, the rights of Baha'is in Iran have been systematically violated over the past years.

Source: HRANA