Another wave of pressure on Baha'is: Four Baha'is sentenced to four years in prison and two others arrested
In the continuation of the repression of religious minorities in Iran, four Baha'i citizens have been sentenced to prison and two other Baha'i citizens have been arrested.
Four Baha'i citizens, namely Ruin Kohnsal, Abolfazl Ansari, Ruhollah Zibaei, and Mohammad Sadeq Rezaei, were sentenced to a total of four years in prison by the Alborz Revolutionary Court, and two other Baha'i citizens, namely Saman Shirvani and Farzaneh Mansouri, were arrested by IRGC intelligence agents in Qaemshahr city and transferred to an unknown location.
According to the Human Rights in Iran website, each of these four Baha'i citizens living in Alborz County has been sentenced to one year in prison by Branch 1 of the Alborz Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Asef Al-Husseini, on charges of "propaganda activity against the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and in favor of Baha'iism."
According to this report, the hearing of these citizens' cases was held on January 18, with the presence of their lawyers at the aforementioned branch, and the verdict was communicated to them on Sunday, February 26.
Four more rulings
On the other hand, Asadollah Jaberi, Minoo Riazati, Ehtaram Sheikhi, and Farideh Jaberi, who had previously been sentenced to 3 years in prison and a 2-year ban on leaving the country by Branch 4 of the Bushehr Provincial Court of Appeal, were arrested on Saturday, February 25, 2020, and transferred to the Criminal Sentence Execution Unit of the Bushehr City Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office to serve their sentences.
Previously, the Voice of America had announced in a report that these Baha'i citizens and three other Baha'i citizens, Emad Jaberi, Farrokh Lagha Faramarzi, and Puneh Nasheri, who were arrested by security forces at their homes or workplaces on February 14, 2017 and were released temporarily after posting a bail of 50 million Tomans each until the end of the trial, were sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison by the Bushehr Provincial Court of First Instance in May of this year. This sentence was confirmed by the Bushehr Provincial Court of Appeal on Friday, December 2.
According to this report, the lawyers of these Baha'i citizens were also not allowed to enter the hearing of the case, which was filed on December 13, and these Baha'i citizens remained silent during the hearing in protest of the absence of their lawyers and did not present any defense.
Previously, Voice of America reported that Ruhollah Zibiyeh and Abolfazl Ansari, two Baha'i citizens living in Karaj, were arrested by the city's security officers in their private homes on Saturday, August 3.
On the other hand, Abolfazl Ansari and Roein Kohnsal were arrested in their homes in mid-August and transferred to Rajaei Prison in Karaj. According to information from the Human Rights in Iran website, they were temporarily released from prison on September 8 and September 1, respectively, after posting bail and pending the completion of the trial.
The Human Rights in Iran website announced in another report that Saman Shirvani and Farzaneh Mansouri, a Baha'i couple living in Qaemshahr city, were also arrested on Thursday, February 25, when IRGC intelligence agents raided the private home of these Baha'i citizens and transferred them to an unknown location.
According to this report, before arresting the Baha'i couple, IRGC intelligence agents searched their home and confiscated a number of their personal belongings, including their cell phones and laptops, and took them away.
According to available information, the family of these Baha'i citizens, despite referring to judicial authorities and the IRGC Intelligence Department in Qaemshahr city, have not received any information from the authorities regarding the status of this Baha'i couple and their place of detention.
The Islamic Republic's treatment of Baha'i citizens has a long history, and this is not the first time that a Baha'i citizen has been arrested or sentenced to judicial sentences solely for believing in the Baha'i faith.
Recently, on Friday, November 8, representatives of 33 countries, including the United States, criticized the violation of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, including Baha'i citizens, in a periodic meeting to review the human rights situation in Iran, and called on the Iranian government to respect their rights.
International human rights organizations and the United States government have repeatedly condemned the persecution and imprisonment of followers of religious minorities in Iran.
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 that 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.
Source: Voice of America
