Issuance and execution of prison sentences for three female Baha'i citizens in Iran
Two Baha'i citizens living in Kerman, Kiana Rezvani and Kimia Mostafavi, were sentenced to a total of twelve years in prison by the Revolutionary Court, and Mitra Badrnezhad, a Baha'i citizen living in Ahvaz, was also transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz to serve the sentence.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Kiana Rezvani and Kimia Mostafavi, Baha'i citizens living in Kerman, have each been sentenced to six years in prison by the Kerman Revolutionary Court on charges of "membership in a Baha'i organization" and "propaganda against the regime in favor of groups opposed to the regime."
These sentences were issued despite the fact that, if confirmed, only five years of these sentences would be enforceable on the charge of "membership in a Baha'i organization" based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which allows for the aggregation of sentences.
These two Baha'i citizens were arrested by security agents in Kerman in January of last year and were temporarily released from Kerman Prison after posting bail pending the completion of the trial.
On the other hand, Mitra Badrnezhad, a Baha'i citizen living in Ahvaz, whose five-year prison sentence for the charge of "membership in a Baha'i organization" was previously reduced to one year by the Khuzestan Provincial Court of Appeal, was transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz on Saturday, September 20, to serve her sentence.
Mitra Badrnezhad was arrested by Intelligence Agency agents at her home in Ahvaz on March 3, 2017, and was temporarily released from Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz after posting a bail of 200 million Tomans, pending the completion of the trial.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said during the unveiling of the annual Religious Freedom Report that the repression of Baha'is, Christians, and other religious and sectarian minorities in Iran continues to be a cause for serious concern.
Javed Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, also said in his second report on the human rights situation in Iran in August of this year: "The Islamic Republic no longer executes Baha'is solely for their religious beliefs, but the risk of raids, arrests, and imprisonment is constant, and since August 2005, more than 1,168 Baha'is have been arrested and faced with vague and ambiguous charges."
International human rights organizations and the United States government have repeatedly condemned the persecution and imprisonment of followers of religious minorities in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
