Property of Shayda Taa’id confiscated by Article 49 court

HRANA, January 17, 2022. –

A special court for Mazandaran Province has ruled that the property of Shayda Taa’id ( شیدا تائید ), a Bahai living in Nur County, Mazandaran, should be seized and handed to “The Executive Headquarters of the Imam.” This organisation, known as Setad, is a parastate organization controlled by the Supreme Leader of Iran. It was created from thousands of properties confiscated in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and serves as a front company for the dubious assets of the ruling elite. The special court rules on confiscations under Article 49 of the Constitution, which says that the government has the responsibility of confiscating all wealth accumulated through usury, usurpation, bribery (etc..), and the operation of centers of corruption. The court based its decision on a fatwa from (unspecified) Shiah clerics, that the ownership of property by Bahais is not in accordance with religious law (“مشروع نبودن اموال بهائیان” ). The decision was issued on January 13 this year.

Mrs Taa’id was arrested in her home in Qaemshahr on September 23, 2021, and released on bail on October 4. Bail was set at 900 million tumans (18,400 euros ; $US 21,400). The authorities have been harassing her for over a decade. On November 6, 2010, the home she shared with her mother, Fariba Ta’id ( فریده تایید ), was searched by the Ministry of Intelligence, and on November 20, 2010, they were arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence. They were both released in early December, 2010. In 2013, her home was raided on January 21, and she was arrested along with her guest, Bayan Baba’i ( بیان بابایی ) from Qaemshahr. They were taken to the Ministry of Intelligence in Sari, and three days later were allowed to contact their families. They were detained by the Ministry of Intelligence in Sari for a total of 25 days. In June 2016 she began a one-year sentence in Babol Prison, in relation to the 2013 arrest, but was released early, in December that year.

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