Sentences reduced for four Bahais in Yazd

HRANA, November 8, 2021. –

The Court of Review for Yazd Province has reduced the sentences of Amin Dhulfaqaari (امین ذوالفقاری), Mahbubeh Mithaaqiyaan-Dehqaan (محبوبه میثاقیان دهقان) Mitra Bandi-Amirabaadi-Baaghi (میترا بندی امیرآبادی) and Heyva Yazdaan-Mahdiabaadi-Bahifar (هیوا یزدان مهدی آبادی) to eight months. In July 2021 the Revolutionary Court in Yazd, presided over by Judge Reza Javad Musavi (قاضی رضا جواد موسوی) sentenced them to two years and eight months in prison for membership of anti-regime groups, and to eight months in prison for propaganda against the regime. Only the propaganda accusation was upheld. The four cases were initially separate; the common element was only the involvement of the Ministry of Intelligence.

Amin Dhulfaqaari (امین ذوالفقاری) was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence on May 21 this year, and released on bail on June 23. He was accused of teaching the Bahai Faith. Mahbubeh Mithaaqiyaan-Dehqaan (محبوبه میثاقیان دهقان) was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence on June 1, and bailed on June 16, 2020. Mitra Bandi-Amirabaadi-Baaghi (میترا بندی امیرآبادی) and Heyva Yazdaan-Mahdiabaadi-Bahifar (هیوا یزدان مهدی آبادی) were arrested on May 30, and released on bail on September 1 after three months of detention. Mrs. Bani-Mahdiabadi and Mrs Yazdaan-Mahdiabaadi had also been arrested in late November, 2017, for teaching music to children. Both were given suspended sentences, which have expired.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Seyaavash Sobhaaneyaan sentenced in Damavand County

HRANA, November 5, 2021. –

Seyaavash Sobhaaneyaan (سیاوش سبحانیان) has been sentenced to two years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in Damavand. Mr Sobhaaneyaan’s father died several years ago, and the family was refused permission to bury him in Rudehen (رودهن), a town halfway between the eastern edge of Tehran and the city of Damavand. They were told he must be buried at Khatunabad (خاتون آباد), about an hour and quarter’s drive to the south. It appears that the charge against Mr. Sobhaaneyaan relates to his following up the family’s request for a burial in Rudehen. He was charged with acting against national security by membership in and running an illegal Bahai organization. His sister, Parisa Sobhaaneyaan Najafaabaadi (پریسا سبحانیان نجف آبادی), was arrested on August 10, 2019, and her brother was told at that time that he should not leave town, and he was arrested a few days later (the present HRANA report says in the month of Mehr, beginning September 23).

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Six Bahais in Shiraz given 31-month sentences

HRANA, November 4, 2021. –

A revolutionary court in Shiraz has handed down sentences of 31 months and 16 days to Sadiqeh Aqdasi (صدیقه اقدسی), `Aliyyeh Farutan (عالیه فروتن), Siyaamak Honavar (سیامک هنرور), Qaasem Ma`sumi (قاسم معصومی), Sa`id Ettehaad (سعید اتحاد) and Behrouz Farzandi Ardakaani (بهروز فرزندی اردکانی). They were charged with membership of an anti-regime group. They were also sentenced to seven months and 16 days for propaganda against the regime, but this will be concurrent with the longer sentence. The trial was held on October 10. Mr. Ardakaani was arrested on April 5, and the others the following day, during raids on their homes. During the raids, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence seized their personal effects such as books and electronic devices. Mr. Ardakaani and Sadiqeh Aqdasi were freed on bail on May 3. I do not have a report of when the others were released pending trial.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Manizheh A`zamiyaan’s 1-year sentence confirmed

HRANA, November 2, 2021. –

The Review Court for Mazandaran Province has confirmed the 1-year prison sentence of Manizheh A`zamiyaan (منیژه اعظمیان), a Bahai from Babol. She was charged with propaganda against the regime. She was arrested on April 13 this year. Next day, she was released on bail of 50 million tumans (10,000 euros ; $US 12,000). Four days before her arrest, security forces raided her home and seized some personal effects including mobile phones, computer hard drives, flash drives, and pictures, books and other printed matter relating to the Bahai Faith. After the morning search, the agents asked her to go to the office of the Ministry of Intelligence in Babol for interrogation. She did so, and was questioned for several hours. This was repeated several times in the days before her arrest. Mrs. A`zamiyaan is 52 years old. Intelligence agents also contacted several of her contacts, stored on her mobile phone, and summoned them for questioning about their contacts with Mrs. A`zamiyaan. I have no reports of the date of her trial in the Revolutionary Court in Babol.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Four Bahais bailed in Shiraz

HRANA, October 26, 2021. –

Mo`in Mithaaqi (معین میثاقی), Negaareh Qaaderi (نگاره قادری), Haayedeh Forutan (هایده فروتن) and her son Mehran Mosallanezhad (مهران مصلی نژاد) were freed on bail on October 26. The first two were arrested in Shiraz on September 22, and Mrs. Mosallaneszhad and her son on October 27. They were taken to Facility 201 — run by the city Police, rather than the Ministry of Intelligence — and held in solitary confinement for their interrogations. Bail was set at 800 million tumans each, which (if it is not a mistake for rials) is unusually high: 164,000 euros or $US 190,000.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Appeal of the Bahais of Ivel against expropriations rejected

HRANA, October 21, 2021. –

An appeal by the Bahais of the village of Ivel (ایول) against the state seizure of their lands and homes has been rejected, without a hearing or a reason. Mohammad-Hadi `Erfaaneyaan-Kaas (محمدهادی عرفانیان کاس), a lawyer for the judiciary, announced on September 21 that he had decided not to allow a retrial. A lawyer acting for the Bahais had lodged a request for a new hearing on Febraruy 23 this year.

The village has been the scene of severe anti-Bahaism. The Bahai population of the village was expelled after the 1979 revolution, and some at least of the properties were confiscated. Many of the Bahais fled to the city of Sari, but some continued to farm land and pick fruit, without living in the village. In 2010, about 50 Bahai-owned homes were demolished.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Latest in a series of raids on Bahai homes in Shiraz

HRANA, October 18, 2021. –

On October 16, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence in Shiraz raided the home of Soroush Abaadi (سروش آبادی) and Nora Momtaaziyaan (نورا ممتازیان), their fourth raid on this home in the space of two years. Because of the previous raids, there was little to find in the house, but they took away Mrs. Momtaaziyaan’s mobile telephone and some pieces of paper. Mrs/ Momtaaziyaan has been summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence’s Facility 100 for interrogation, on October 21. Mrs. Momtazian’s father, William Momtaaziyaan (ویلیام ممتازیان), lives in the same block of appartments. His apartment was searched on April 7 this year, when agents seized a computer hard drive, mobile telephones, electronic equipment and Bahai books. At around 10 am on October 16, agents rang his doorbell and were admitted to the lobby, but they went unannounced to the apartment of Mr Abaadi and Mrs Momtaaziyaan. Mr. Abaadi was not home, and the agents had no female officer with them, but they entered and searched the home, and gave Mrs. Momtaaziyaan a summons. Mr. Abaadi was arrested on October 21, 2019, and the home was searched at that time with the seizure of all electronic devices and some personal effects. He was arrested again on April 6, 2021, and books and electronic devices were again confiscated. He was released on bail on May 8 2021. I do not have a record of the fourth raid on this home that HRANA mentions: it may be the raid on the apartment of Mrs. Momtaaziyaan’s father, or perhaps my records are incomplete.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Optician in Qaemshahr fired for Bahai beliefs

HRANA, October 17, 2021. –

Six years ago, the optician’s business of Soheil Haqdust (سهیل حقدوست) in Qaemshahr was closed down by the authorities because he had taken a free day to observe a Bahai Holy Day. He went to work in the office of an opthamologist in the city, but has now been fired becuase the Republican Guard put pressure on his employer. Then he was arrested, on the accusation that he had spread information about the closure of his shop, and the businesses of other Bahais in the Province of Mazandaran. After four days he was freed on bail, and the Revolutionary Court of Sari later sentenced him to one year in prison for “propaganda against the regime.” The Provincial Review Court reduced this to four months, but in February 2019 he was among those pardoned on the anniversary of the triumph of the 1979 Revolution.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Arsalaan Yazdaani bailed in Tehran (updated)

HRANA, October 16, 2021. –

Arsalan Yazdani (ارسلان یزدانی), a Baha’i living in Tehran, was released on bail on October 16 after 45 days in detention. He was arrested on September 1, in a raid on the family home, and taken to Evin Prison. The agents also seized some personal effects. On September 30, agents raided his parents’ home and seized more personal belongings. On October 6, and order was issued for the return of some of the materials that had been seized, including their own and their childrens’ laptops and mobile phones.

IranWire later reported that when the agents searched the couple’s home, they did not find any Bahai books, but he had a collection of old (non-Bahai) books that belonged to his mother. One of these was a life of Hazrat-e Abbas, meaning the martyr Al-Abbas ibn Ali, who was martyred in Karbala in the year 689. Being an old book (dating from pre-inflation days!) it had the price printed on the cover: “Bahaa (price): 57 Rials.” The arresting officer thought that “Bahaa” was the same as Baha’i.  

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

 

Shayda Taa’id released on bail

HRANA, October 2021. –

Shayda Taa’id (شیدا تایید), a Bahai from Qaemshahr, was released on bail on October 4. Bail was set at 900 million tumans (18,400 euros ; $US 21,400). She was arrested in her home on September 23 this year. Agents searched her home and seized her mobile phone, electronic devices, books, photographs and writings. She has been imprisoned for her faith before: on January 21, 2013 she was arrested, and three years later was sentenced to one year in prison. She served that sentence in Babol Prison. My information is that she was also arrested in 2010, when she was living in Sari (a short distance from Qaemshahr): I do not know what the outcome of that arrest was.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Mo’in Mohammadi paroled

HRANA, October 15, 2021. –

Mo’in Mohammadi (معین محمدی), a Bahai from Yazd, has been told he will serve the remainder of his sentence on parole. He was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence on January 9, 2019. At the end of March he was sentenced to six years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Yazd, and was released on bail on April 10. In July, the Review Court for the Province of Yazd reduced his sentence, for “propaganda against the regime” to one year of electronic surveillance by wearing a tracking bracelet. He was required to remain within the city of Yazd and the associated industrial park where he works. The Prosecutor objected to the Review Court’s decision and the case was re-tried in Iran’s Supreme Court, which overturned the Review Court decision and returned the case to the Revolutionary Court where the Judge sentenced him to the maximum penalty for membership of groups opposed to the regime — 31 months and 16 days — but deducted the 12 months he wore an ankle bracelet to give a sentence of 19 months and 16 days. On May 6 this year he was summoned to the punishments implementation office and told he must report to prison within 10 days.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

16 Bahai students excluded, & a short history of discrimination

IranWire, September 30, 2021. –

IranWire has a short history of the various disguises used to exclude Bahai students from tertiary education in Iran. Since the results of the 2021 national entrance exams were announced in late September, Baha’i students who obtained passing grades and went to the education assessment site found they were under “General Disqualification.” Because of his or her faith, a Baha’i student does not meet one of the general conditions set out for the 2021 entrance exam. The first paragraph of these general conditions states that the student is required to follow Islam or one of the religions recognized in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. The report lists 16 Bahais known to have been barred from entering university in this way: Nora Motlagh, Leva Motlagh, Sepehr Nikki, Ava Shahriari, Nora Nabipour, Mesbah Misaghi, Foroutan Rahmani, Rosa Mokhlesi, Nasim Shahriari, Farhan Shizadi, Elena Qolizadeh Roshankoohi, Mahsa Forouhari, Forouzan Nikokar, Parsa Charkhand, Lena Kamjoo and Emilia Hakimian.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Bahai students again barred from tertiary education in Iran

HRANA, September 26, 2021. –

HRANA reports the case of Nasim Shahyaari-Zavaareh (نسیم شهریاری زواره), an 18-year-old Bahai from Tehran who was successful in the University Entrance examinations, but has been barred from university because of her Bahai beliefs. On the web site of the National Assessments organisation, her profile has the word “rejected,” a shift from previous years when the words “file incomplete” were used. A number of other Bahai students have also received the message “rejected.” When Miss Shahyaari followed up on her rejection, she was told that the Ministry of Intelligence had tagged her. She was then asked about her beliefs and her family’s beliefs, and told, “I cannot do anything: if you insist you are a Bahai your problem probably cannot be solved.”

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Shayda Taa’id arrested in Qaemshahr

HRANA, September 25, 2021. –

Shayda Taa’id (شیدا تایید), a Bahai living in Qaemshahr, was arrested in her home on September 23. Agents searched her home and seized her mobile phone, electronic devices, books, photographs and writings. They initially put her elderly mother, Farideh Ta’ed (فریده تایید) in their vehicle as well, but then unloaded her in the middle of the road. It is not known where Mrs. Taa’id is being detained.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Haayedeh Forutan (Mosallanezhad) and her son arrested in Shiraz

HRANA, September 24, 2021. –

Haayedeh Forutan (هایده فروتن ) and her son Mehran Mosallanezhad (مهران مصلی نژاد) were arrested in Shiraz on September 23, after responding to a summons to the office of the Ministry of Intelligence. On the previous day, agents raided the home Mo`in Mithaaqi (معین میثاقی ) and Negaareh Qaaderi (نگاره قادری،) and arrested them, and raided the home of Mrs Forutan and seized some personal effects, but they were unable to arrest her as she was not home.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Two arrests in Shiraz, third is sought

HRANA, September 22, 2021. –

On September 22, security agents raided the home Mo`in Mithaaqi (معین میثاقی ) and Negaareh Qaaderi (نگاره قادری،) in Shiraz and arrested them. It is not known where they are being held. Agents also raided the home of Haayedeh Mosallanezhad (هایده مصلی نژاد) and seized some personal effects, but they were unable to arrest her as she was not home. Mr. Mithaaqi’s home was targetted in April, 2021, in a raid described as violent and discourteous. A bowl of soup was spilled on the feet of their two-year-old daughter, who suffered from the burns for some time.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Kiaana Sho`aai and Soroush Abaadi sentenced in Shiraz

HRANA, September 21, 2021. –

Soroush Abaadi (سروش آبادی) and Kiana Sho`aai (کیانا شعاعی) have been sentenced by a Revolutionary Court in Shiraz to 31 months and 16 days in prison and a 2-year ban on leaving the country. The Judge in that court is Mahmud Saadaati (قاضی محمود ساداتی). The trial was held on September 12. They were charged with “membership in anti-regime groups with the intention of undermining national security.” They were also given a concurrent sentence of 7 months and 16 days in prison on a charge of “propaganda against the regime in cyberspace.” In the case of Mrs. Sho`aai, 30 months of her sentence has been suspended for a period of five years, which probably means that — given the time already in detention — she will not have to go to prison, but will have to report to the Ministry of Intelligence every month for five years. Mrs. Sho`aai was first tried on My 15, 2021, but her case was referred back to the Prosecutor’s Office for revision.

Mr. Abaadi and Mrs. Sho`aai were arrested by Intelligence agents in Shiraz on October 21, 2019, along with Farzaan Ma`sumi ( فرزان معصومی). The agents also searched their homes, along with the homes of a number of other Bahais in Shiraz, and seized personal effects such as computers, mobile phones and laptops. Mrs. Sho`aai was released on bail on November 6, 2020, and Mr Abaadi was bailed on December 1.

Soroush Abadi was initially detained by the Ministry of Intelligence at their ‘Facility 100’ interrogation unit, and then taken to the high-security block at Adelabad prison, and then moved to the prisoner of conscience block on May 5, 2021. was released on bail of 800 million tumans (156,000 euros ; $US 190,000) on May 8 this year.

Farzaan Ma`sumi was sentenced to five years in prison, reduced to two years by the Review Court.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Arsalaan Yazdaani arrested in Tehran

Iran Wire, September 4, 2021. –

On Wednesday, September 1, Arsalan Yazdani (ارسلان یزدانی), a Baha’i living in Tehran, was arrested by security agents in a raid on the family home. His wife Samira Ebraahimi (سمیرا ابراهیمی) has recounted the events of the raid, and disputed a report on social media that the agents were armed. It is not known which security agency conducted the raid, or where Mr. Yazdani is being held. The full story in english on Iran Wire. The Persian report is here.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

One-year sentences confirmed for Ataa-ollah Zaffar and Abbaas Taa’ef in Tehran

HRANA, August 2021. –

The Review Court for Tehran Province has upheld the one-year sentences of Mr. Ataa-ollah Zaffar (عطاالله ظفر) and `Abbaas Taa’ef (عباس طائف). They were both arrested on September 27, 2019, following home raids by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence. They were charged with undermining national security by leading and participating in the Bahai sect. It appears that the home raids, in Tehran and Karaj, related to Bahai burials in Tehran, where Mr. Zaffar was involved with a Bahai cemetery. Mr. Taa’ef was freed on bin on November 25, 2019; I do not know when Mr. Zaffar was bailed.

The Review Court judge was Seyyed Ahmad Zargar (قاضی سیداحمد زرگر), with Counsellor `Abbas`Ali Houzaan (عباسعلی حوزان).The verdict was dated July 6.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

`Ali Ahmadi begins prison term in Qaemshahr

Iran News Wire, August 28, 2021. –

On August 26, `Ali Ahmadi (علی احمدی) was arrested and transferred to Qaemshahr Prison to serve a one-year sentence. He was arrested on November 20, 2018, by agents who insulting his religious beliefs and calling him “unclean” and “Bahai dog.” They also seized some religious books mobile phone and computer. He was freed on bail on January 2, 2019, after posting bail of 150 million tumans (31,000 euros ; $US 35,000). He was sentenced to 11 years of prison for “spreading propaganda against the state and managing a Bahai organization.” The Review Court for Mazandaran Province reduced this to one year of prison.

He has been arrested several times in the past decade or so. On the first occasion he was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and on the second occasion he was acquitted. In 2011 he was arrested with two others and charged with participation in Bahai activities. He suffers from diabetes, heart problems, and thyroid illnesses.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Dorsa Dehqaani free on bail

Radio Farda, July 2, 2021. –

Dorsa Dehqaani (درسا دهقانی), who was arrested at Shiraz railway station on June 14, was released on bail on July 1. In 2014, when she was 19 years and had just been barred from tertiary education because of her Bahai beliefs, Miss Dehqaani wrote a letter to Saadeq Laarijaani (صادق لاریجانی), who was at that time the head of the Judiciary in Iran, protesting against the discrimination and oppression suffered by the Bahais in Iran.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Saanaaz Notqi sentenced in Ahvaz

HRANA, August 2, 2021. –

Saanaaz Notqi (ساناز نطقی), a Bahai from Ahvaz, has been sentenced to five years in prison by a revolutionary court there. Her arrest and detention were not previously reported on Sen’s Daily. The 5-year sentence relates to the charge of “membership of the illegal Bahai organisation.” She also received a concurrent 8-month sentence for “propaganda against the regime.” The trial was held on July 17, 2021. I do not know the date of her arrest, or further details.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Touraj Amini released from jail in Karaj

HRANA, July 28, 2021. –

Bahai researcher and author Touraj Amini ( تورج امینی) was released from Karaj Prison on July 28 after serving a six-month prison sentence. In June, 2020, he was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Karaj to one year in prison and two years of exile from the city, but this was reduced to a six-month sentence by the Review Court. He was charged with “propaganda against the regime.”

On August 4, 2019, security forces searched his home, seizing books and notes and a laptop. Mr. Amini was previously detained for a short time, in March 2008. His books include one on the role of religious minorities in the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911, “The Hidden Awakening” (رستاخیز پنهان), on the relationship between Iranians intellectuals and the Babi and Bahai Faiths, and a five-volume collection of source documents relating to the Bahais in Iran.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Four Bahais sentenced by a Revolutionary Court in Yazd

HRANA, July 2021. –

A Revolutionary Court in Yazd, presided over by Judge Reza Javad Musavi (قاضی رضا جواد موسوی) has sentenced four Bahais to two years and eight months in prison for membership of anti-regime groups, and to eight month in prison for propaganda against the regime. If the sentences are confirmed by the Review Court, they will serve only the longer sentence. The sentence was announced on July 13. The four cases were not initially related, except for the involvement of the Ministry of Intelligence.

Amin Dhulfaqaari (امین ذوالفقاری) was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence on May 21, and released on bail on June 23. He was accused of teaching the Bahai Faith. Mahbubeh Mithaaqiyaan-Dehqaan (محبوبه میثاقیان دهقان) was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence on June 1, and bailed on June 16, 2020. Mitra Bandi-Amirabaadi-Baaghi (میترا بندی امیرآبادی) and Heyva Yazdaan-Mahdiabaadi-Bahifar (هیوا یزدان مهدی آبادی) were arrested on My 30, and released on bail on September 1 after three months of detention.

Mrs. Bani-Mahdiabadi and Mrs Yazdaan-Mahdiabaadi had also been arrested in late November, 2017, for teaching music to children. The report says that both were given suspended sentences, which have expired, but does not indicate when this occurred.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Sentences confirmed for three Bahais in Tehran

HRANA, July 18, 2021. –

The Review Court for Tehran Province has confirmed the sentences of Saeed Naasseri (سعید ناصری), his brother Hamid Naasseri ( حمید ناصری), and Afsaaneh Emaami (افسانه امامی), wife of Saeed Nasseri. In February this year, a Revolutionary Court under Judge Mohammad-Reza Amouzaad ( قاضی محمدرضا عموزاد ) sentenced Mrs. Emami to three years in prison, and the two brothers to two years in prison, for membership of an illegal group intended to undermine national security. The same court had previously handed down these sentences in absentia and without a hearing, and confirmed them after a hearing, as has the Review Court.

Afsaaneh Emaami (افسانه امامی) was arrested at her home on the evening of February 2, 2019. Agents searched her house thoroughly and confiscated her mobile phone, computer, books, and essays. Hamid Nasseri was arrested on the street in front of his business on March 11, 2019, and Saeed was arrested on the same day after going to the Evin detention center to inquire about the condition of his brother and wife.

Afsaaneh Emaami was released on bail of 500 million tumans ( 105,000 euros; $US 119,000 ) on March 16, 2019, and Saeed and Hamid were released for the same bail amount on April 18 and 24, respectively.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Sina Kamali Sarvestaani bailed in Shiraz

HRANA, July 11, 2021. –

Sina Kamali Sarvestaani (سینا کمالى سروستانی), who was arrested in Shiraz on June 15, was released on bail on July 11. After his arrest, he was taken first to a detention centre run by the intelligence arm of the Republican Guard. A short time later he was transferred to Adelabad prison. On July 3 he was permitted telephone contact with his family from Adelabad prison.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Four Bahais released in Bushehr

HRANA, July 4, 2021. –

Mrs. Minou Reyaazati (مینو ریاضتی), Ehteraam Shakhi (احترام شخی), Farideh Jaaberi (فریده جابری) and Mr. Asadollah Jaaberi (اسدالله جابری), Bahai prisoners in Bushehr prison, were recently given furlough and have now been told they will not be required to return to prison. They were among seven Bahais sentenced to three years in prison and a two-year ban on leaving the country by a Revolutionary Court in May 2019. These four Bahais began their sentences on January 25, 2020. They were charged with “membership in the Bahai group and sect with the intent of disrupting national security.”

All seven were arrested in raids on Bahai homes in Bushehr on February 2018. They were released on bail six weeks later, and tried by the Revolutionary Court in May, 2019. Their sentences were confirmed by the Provincial Review Court in November, 2019.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Shahrzaad Nazifi retried: 8-year sentence upheld

HRANA, June 29, 2021. –

On June 8 this year, HRANA reported that Shahrzaad Nazifi (شهرزاد نظیفی), a well-known sportswoman and trainer in women’s motorcross, had been sentenced to eight years in prison, banned from leaving Iran for two years, and sentenced to three month’s community service, four hours per day, providing services to the intellectually handicapped. She was tried in absentia in a Revolutionary Court by Judge Eymaan Afshaari (قاضی ایمان افشاری), and the sentence was communicated to her “defence” lawyer after the fact. That highly irregular trial has now been rerun by the same Judge with the same outcome. The ruling cited her “bad motives and desire to destroy the religious system.” It is not clear whether she was this time allowed to know the evidence and present a defence.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

 

Dorsa Dehqaani arrested in Shiraz

HRANA, June 14, 2021. –

Late in the day of June 14, security forces arrested Dorsa Dehqaani (درسا دهقانی) at Shiraz railway station. They took her to her home in Shiraz, which they searched. They seized some personal effects mobile phones and Bahai books, pictures and artifacts, and took her away. It is not known where she is being detained. I assume that this is the same Dorsa Dehqaani who, in 2014, was barred from entering university because of her Bahai Faith ~ can someone confirm that? From the photographs then and now, it seems she is getting younger!

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.

Home raid and arrest in Shiraz

HRANA, June 14, 2021. –

On June 15, security forces arrested Sina Kamali Sarvestaani (سینا کمالى سروستانی) in front of his home in Shiraz. They searched his home and seized personal effects such as books, as well as all the electronic devices belonging to his family. It is not known where he is being detained.

Older items can be found in the archive, here. Even older news is here.