Iran: 19 Baha’i Citizens Arrested in Mashhad, Shiraz and Isfahan

According to Iran Human Rights, four Baha’i citizens were each sentenced to one year imprisonment by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court last October which was upheld on appeal. They were arrested on May 4, when they appeared the Mashhad Sentence Enforcement Unit and transferred to Mashhad Central Prison to serve their sentences.

HRANA news agency also reported the arrest of seven Baha’i citizens at their homes in Shiraz. The arrests, said to have been made by Shiraz intelligence officials, were accompanied with searches of their homes.

The seven Baha’i citizens arrested are: Saeed Etehad, Ghassem Masoumi, Siamak Honarvar, Soroush Abadi, Sedigheh Aghdasi and Alieh Foroutan. Of those arrested, Saeed Etehad was released on bail today.

According to the same report, eight Baha’i citizens were arrested in Isfahan on April 25. They are: Sara Shakib, Firouzeh Rastinejad, Sanaz Rasteh, Azita Rezvani, Mojgan Pourshafi, Nasrin Khademi, Afshin Vojdani and Noushin Hemat.

Security officials were reportedly “rough and violent” and beat some of the individuals arrested. The homes of 13 Baha’i citizens in the Baharestan district of Isfahan were also searched on the same day.

The Iranian Constitution does not recognise the Baha’i religion, which has led to the systematic violation of their rights.