HRANA – Borna Naimi, a Baha’i citizen residing in Kerman, remains in a state of uncertainty after 39 days in detention and is still being held in solitary confinement in Kerman Prison.
In a statement, the global Baha’i community expressed concern over his situation, announcing that he has been subjected to mock executions twice in order to extract forced confessions. Previously, the organization had also reported mock execution practices against Peyvand Naimi, another detained Baha’i citizen in the same case. The statement notes that the treatment of these two young Baha’is has heightened concerns over the intensification of persecution against Baha’is in Iran.
The global Baha’i community, expressing concern over Borna Naimi’s fate, stated in a declaration, shared with HRANA, that: he has “endured at least two mock executions, electric shocks causing severe burns to his feet, and other forms of torture, since his arrest in Kerman on 1 March.”
The statement emphasizes that following Peyvand Naimi, Borna Naimi is the second Baha’i detainee in Kerman to be subjected to mock execution, “raising concerns regarding the intensification of the persecution against the Baha’is in Iran, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.”
According to the statement, this is the second case involving detained Baha’i citizens in Kerman accused of involvement in the killing of Basij agents during the protests of January 7, 2026. However, “Borna’s torture was so extensive that he was forced to sign a false confession in which he implicated himself and his cousin, Peyvand Naimi, in killing Basij guards during 8 January protests. No evidence exists for this charge, and neither Borna nor Peyvand could have committed these crimes, as they occurred after Peyvand had been detained and while Borna was surrounded by family at home. The text of his forced confession had been prepared beforehand and handed to him to read. No trial has been held for either prisoner.”
The statement continues: “During the first days of detention, Borna was repeatedly beaten, receiving multiple blows to his sides, ribs, beneath the chest, and his back. He was transferred several times to places near his residence, where he was pressured with threats concerning his wife and young daughter, including threats that his child would be sent to a state orphanage if he did not cooperate. ”
In this context, a representative of the global Baha’i community at the United Nations in Geneva stated: “During the initial days of detention, Borna was held in a special section of the prison known as the ‘death suite,’ where prisoners sentenced to execution are kept 48 hours before their sentence is carried out. Reports indicate that during this period, he was held in a small solitary cell of approximately two by two meters and was unable to distinguish day from night.”
Simin Fahandej added: “During his first days in prison, Borna was held in a special section of the prison called the “suite”—the “the death suite”—in which death row prisoners are held 48 hours before execution. Reports indicate that, during this time, he was held under solitary confinement in a small room about two-by-two metres in size, in such a way that he could not distinguish between night and day.”
She further stated: “The treatment of Borna and Peyvand is a stark indication of the Islamic Republic’s relentless efforts to fabricate accusations against the Baha’is and falsely present them as responsible for crimes they did not commit. It raises grave concerns about the plans and intentions of the Iranian government for the Baha’is in Iran, who have, time and again, been scapegoated at moments of national crisis as a means of deflecting attention from its own deepening repression. Such actions not only endanger innocent lives but further entrench a pattern of systematic persecution that seeks to isolate, dehumanize, and ultimately silence an entire minority community.”
Previously, HRANA had reported on the use of mock execution and abuse against Peyvand Naimi in an effort to extract forced confessions.
Borna Naimi, a 29-year-old Baha’i citizen, father of a three-year-old child and resident of Kerman, was arrested on March 1, 2026, by security forces.
Over the past decade, the Baha’i community in Iran has faced more security and judicial pressure than any other religious minority. A review of HRA’s annual reports shows that in the past year, an average of 62.41% of reports concerning religious minorities involved violations of the rights of Baha’is.
