13 Baha’i Citizens Sentenced to Over 40 Years in Prison Combined

The Court of Appeals in Karaj has issued a combined sentence of 40 years and seven months, along with additional punishments, for 13 Baha’i citizens.

The verdicts state that Afif Na’imi (Naeimi) will serve seven years, while Saman Ostovar and Kamyar Habibi will each serve five years. Rameleh Tirgarnejad, Elham Shareghi Arani, and Sabin Yazdani have been sentenced to three years. Mahsa Tirgar, Shahrzad Mastouri, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Negin Rezaie, Nakisa Rezaie, Sahba Adyani, and Bita Momtazi will serve two years and one month. Additionally, all individuals have been fined, prohibited from leaving the country, and restricted from residing in Alborz Province, along with other social deprivations.
They have been convicted of multiple charges such as “insulting and propaganda against Islamic Sharia, forming and running groups to act against national security through preaching Baha’i faith to children in Kindergartens, promoting against Islamic Sharia through holding coaching courses.”

The court session took place on June 15, 2023, without notifying their lawyers. The initial sentences have now been upheld and will be enforced within ten days, as confirmed by a reliable source who spoke to HRANA.

These citizens were detained during the summer of the previous year. While the specific grounds for the charges remain undisclosed, they appear to be related to their educational activities for children in Alborz Province, particularly preschool children. The Iranian regime perceives the peaceful activities of Baha’is in providing humanitarian aid and education as a threat to its own ideology.

According to HRANA annual report, from the total human rights reports regarding the violation of religious minorities’ rights, 64.63% belonged to the violation of the rights of Baha’is.

Eleven Baha’i Citizens Sentenced to a Total of 36 Years in Prison

The Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced eleven Baha’i citizens, out of 13 defendants of one legal case, to over 36 years and additional punishments.

According to these verdicts, Afif Na’imi, Saman Ostovar, Kamyar Habibi, Rameleh Tirgarnejad, Mahsa Tirgar, Shahrzad Mastouri, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Negin Rezaie, Nakisa Sadeghi, Elham Shareghi Arani and Sabin Yazdani, to 36 years for “insulting and propaganda against Islamic Sharia, forming and participating in groups to act against national security through teaching and preaching the Baha’i faith to children in Kindergartens, promoting against Islamic Sharia through holding coaching courses” They have also been fined and banned from residing in Alborz province, leaving the country and other social deprivations.

The jail sentences against these individuals go as follows:

  1. Afif Na’imi-seven years
  2. Saman Ostovar-five years
  3. Kamyar Habibi- five years
  4. Rameleh Tirgarnejad (Habibi’s wife)- three years
  5. Mahsa Tirgar-25 months
  6. Shahrzad Mastouri-25 months
  7. Sadaf Sheikhzadeh-25 months
  8. Negin Rezaie-25 months
  9. Nakisa Sadeghi-25 months
  10. Elham Shareghi Arani-three years
  11. Sabin Yazdani-three years

The details of the verdicts against two other defendants in this case, including Sahba Adiani are still unknown.

These individuals were arrested during the summer of last year and their houses were searched.
Although it is unknown which acts have been invoked as examples of the charges mentioned above, they seem to have been convicted of educational activities for children, especially preschool children.

Baha’i Individual Afif Naimi in Detention 

Five days after tensions and the arrests of Baha’i activists, Afif Naimi is in detention and his whereabouts are unknown. Naimi suffers from heart disease which raises concerns about his condition.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Baha’i citizen Afif Naimi’s whereabouts are still unknown.

Lawyer Saeed Dehghan wrote on his social media page, “among detained Baha’is, Afif Naimi’s whereabouts are still unknown. During his incarceration, he was hospitalized for his heart issues and the doctors certified that he was unable to bear imprisonment, but the authorities refused to commute his sentence”.

On July 31, 2022, security forces arrested six Baha’i citizens including Naimi. He was a member of a now-disbanded Baha’i group known as the “Yaran e Iran” or “Friends of Iran”, addressing the spiritual and social needs of the Baha’i community.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 20, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 20th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Ebrahim Nouri, an Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist filed a complaint against the head and the judicial deputy of Evin prison. Nouri, a law student, has a record of being detained for civic activities, beginning in 2005 when he was arrested and interrogated by the Intelligence department. In 2009, he was sentenced to ten months imprisonment on a charge of propaganda against the regime.

(2) Five of the significant spate of Nationwide protests today: retired educators in Gilan, Isfahan, Yazd, and Zanjan have held protests. And shareholders of the bankrupt Caspian Financial Institution protested in Kerman.

(3) A furlough request of Latif Hassani, a Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, was denied. He was arrested in 2012 and has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment. He was accused of forming an illegal group to act against the national security.

(4) More than 2600 workers of Railway Transportation Company and Samen al-Hojaj financial Institution are demanding their unpaid wages. The issue of unpaid wages has been a continuous one in Iran over the last year.

(5) Mahmoud Naji who began his hunger strike on December 11, has critical medical states and he has been denied medical treatment. He is serving his 10 years sentence in Evin prison.

(6) Two labor activists, Mehrdad Sabouri and Omid Ahmadi, who were accused of “propaganda against the state” for participating in international Labor day protest, began serving their sentence today.

(7) Afif Naimi, one of the administrative members of the Baha’i Community who was arrested in 2008, and served his 10 years sentence was released today. He was accused of ‘assembly and collusion’, ‘blasphemy’, and ‘propaganda against the State’.

(8) Omid Shahmohammadi, a teachers’ rights activist who had been arrested on November 12, was released on bail in Divandarreh today.

(9) On December 20, police opened fire on a fuel tanker truck in Zahedan which caused the truck to set on fire.

(10) Eight prisoner requested human rights organisations especially the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran to investigate in Vahid Sayadi Nasiri ‘s death. Earlier this week France and US requested investigation on the circumstances of his death.

(11) A juvenile offender death penalty was confirmed in the Supreme Court. He was charged with murder in 2011 when he was 14 years old.

(12) Bahram Javadi, the administrator of ‘YollPress’ website, was released on bail today. He was arrested on a complaint from the governor of West Azerbaijan regarding coverage his speech coverage.

Tyranny on Prisoners of Conscience at Rajai Shahr

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- This past August, Rajai Shahr Prison authorities ordered the transfer of political prisoners to Ward 10, where prisoners’ already-tight rations on climate control, fresh air, and nutrition have reportedly been cut even slimmer.

It is a running suspicion that prison authorities seek to dismantle the political ward, breaking down these prisoners’ spirits so that they will be more amenable to being dispersed among different wards.

Ward 10 currently houses 18 prisoners charged with political and security-related crimes. Four more political prisoners are being held in lateral sections. Of these 22, seven are in need of medical care.

A cold chill is already creeping through the walls of the hillside prison, boding the incoming flu season from which political prisoners stand unprotected, a close source told HRANA. “The need for heating equipment is felt all across the prison, but on [Prison Head] Gholamreza Ziayi’s orders, the political prisoners can’t have access to heaters. While prisoners pay for heaters out of their own pockets, the director has forbidden their delivery or use in the political ward.” Prison authorities have reportedly even gone as far as banning heaters in common areas that political prisoners might flock to for refuge, i.e. the prison library, gym, or store.

A letter underlining the dire need for climate control addressed to Ziyai from a previous prosecution assistant responsible for overseeing prison affairs, did nothing to change his mind, the source said.

Political prisoners got the brunt of the opposite heat extreme this past summer when they were denied access to any form of a cooling system. While their repeated requests managed to obtain three refrigerators for the ward, Ziyai underlined that they would have access to more equipment and amenities if they requested to be transferred to different wards.

Political detainees have thus far held fast to regulations requiring prisoners charged with different offenses to be housed in separate wards. Their resistance against integrating with prisoners accused of petty theft, drug-related crimes, or violent offenses has contributed to continued daily frictions between authorities and their cohort.

Meanwhile, the assessment of food provided to these political prisoners is even more scathing than the Rajai Shahr usual. Sources say that prisoners eat vegetarian by default, limited to plain rice with soy or lentils at lunchtime. Though the dinner menu promises to be more substantial — bean or lentil stew, or Ash [a thick Iranian soup] — sources say that the dishes hardly live up to their names, and prisoners in the cohort are rarely, if ever, served produce.

Deprivation of fresh air is also being leveraged against them, sources say. The regular 2-to-5:30 recreation period previously enjoyed by political prisoners in mixed groups has been eliminated entirely since their transfer to Ward 10. “Fresh airtime has been denied [to them] on direct orders from Ziayi, despite the fact that the recreation area is empty between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.”, an anonymous source said.

Warden and Internal Director Vali Ali Mohammadi has abdicated from addressing prisoners’ complaints, stating that he defers to the authority of Ziayi and his secretary/chauffeur. “In other words,” a source said, “the slightest request, like for food or stationary, has to pass by Ziayi and his secretary.”

Though seasoned in-group attrition tactics, authorities at Rajai Shahr have not shied away from more targeted brutality to get their point across. Multiple sources have reported aggressive body searches, harassment and verbal abuse of prisoners’ families, and the placement of arbitrary, extreme restrictions to wear down individual inmates. In one such instance, Supervising Prosecution Assistant Rostami placed a long-term prohibition on visits between Hassan Sadeghi and his imprisoned wife; in another, medical attention to the bone cancer and infected surgery site of Arash Sadeghi were repeatedly postponed and denied. Deprivations like Sadeghi’s may become more widespread: two weeks ago, an official prison order came into effect, invalidating all approved transfers of ailing prisoners to [outside] medical facilities.

The respective situations of a number of Rajai Shahr prisoners of conscience are compiled in the lists below

1. Majid Assadi, accused of assembly and collusion [against national security]. Arrested in 2016, sentenced to 6 years. Anticipated release date: 2021. Has been incarcerated for two years without furlough.

2. Afshin Baimani, accused of Moharebeh [enmity against God] through cooperation with the MEK. Arrested in 2000, sentenced to life. Currently in 18th year of incarceration without furlough.

3. Mohammad Banazadeh Amirkhizi, accused of being a MEK sympathizer, and of assembly and collusion against the regime. Arrested on 2016, sentenced to 11 years. Anticipated release date: 2027. Has been incarcerated for two years without furlough.

4. Ebrahim Firouzi, accused of assembly and collusion and propaganda against the regime. Arrested in 2013, sentenced to 7 years. Anticipated release date: 2019. Currently in 5th year of incarceration without furlough.

5. Abolghassem Fouladvand, accused of Moharebeh through supporting the MEK. Arrested in 2013, sentenced to 15 years. Anticipated release date: 2028. Currently in 5th year of incarceration without furlough.

6. Gol Mohammad Jonbeshi, accused of cooperation with the Taliban. Arrested in 2016, sentenced to 3 years. Anticipated release date: 2019. Currently in 2nd year of incarceration without furlough.

7. Latif Hassani, accused of forming an illegal group to act against national security. Arrested in 2012, sentenced to 8 years. Anticipated release date: 2020.

8. Saeed Massouri, accused of Moharebeh through membership in the MEK. Arrested in 2000, sentenced to life. Currently in 2nd year of incarceration without furlough.

9. Mohammad Ali (Pirouz) Mansouri, accused of Moharebeh through support of the MEK. Arrested on 2007, sentenced to 22 years. Anticipated release date: 2028. Currently in 11th year of incarceration without furlough.

10. Asghar Pashayi, accused of espionage. Arrested in 2008, sentenced to 10 years. Anticipated release date: 2018. Release pending his payment of a fine. Currently in 10th year of incarceration without furlough.

11. Farhang Pourmansouri, accused of hijacking a plane. Arrested in 2000, sentenced to life. Currently in 18th year of incarceration without furlough.

12. Shahram Pourmansouri, accused of hijacking a plane. Arrested in 2000, sentenced to life. Currently in 18th year of incarceration without furlough.

13. Houshang Rezaei, accused of Moharabeh through membership in Komele [Kurdish opposition group]. Arrested in 2010, sentenced to death. Currently in 8th year of incarceration without furlough.

14. Arash Sadeghi, accused of propaganda against the regime, assembly and collusion, insulting the supreme leader, and disseminating lies. Arrested in 2016, sentenced to 11.5 years. Anticipated release date: 2027. Currently in 2nd year of incarceration without furlough.

15. Hassan Sadeghi, accused of Moharebeh through cooperation with the MEK. Arrested in 2013, sentenced to 11.5 years. Anticipated release date: 2028. Currently in 5th year of incarceration without furlough.

16. Hamzeh Savari, accused of moharebeh and acting against national security. Arrested in 2005, sentenced to life. Currently in 13th year of incarceration without furlough.

17. Payam Shakiba, accused of assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the regime. Arrested in 2016, sentenced to 11 years. Anticipated release date: 2027. Currently in 2nd year of incarceration without furlough.

18. Saeed Shirzad, accused of assembly and collusion against national security, damaging prison property, and disrupting prison order. Arrested in 2014, sentenced to 6.5 years. Anticipated release date: 2020. Currently in 4th year of incarceration without furlough.

Baha’is incarcerated in Ward 11:

1. Vahed Kholousi, accused of assembly and collusion against national security, Baha’i membership, activism, and proselytizing, propaganda against the regime, and activism in defense of Baha’i student rights. Arrested in 2015, sentenced to 5 years. Anticipated release date: 2020. Currently in 3rd year of incarceration without furlough.

2. Afshin Seyyed Ahmad, accused of assembly and collusion and propaganda against the regime. Arrested in 2016, sentenced to 3 years. Anticipated release date: 2019. Currently in 2nd year of incarceration without furlough.

3. Farhad Fahandoj, accused of Baha’i proselytizing and involvement in Baha’i associations. Arrested in 2012, sentenced to 10 years. Anticipated release date: 2022. Currently in 6th year of incarceration without furlough.

4. Afif Naimi, accused of assembly and collusion, blasphemy, and propaganda against the regime. Arrested in 2008, sentenced to 10 years. Anticipated release date: 2018.

Ailing prisoners deprived of medical care:

1. Majid Assadi: gastrointestinal disease, duodenal ulcers
2. Shahram Pourmansouri: herniated disc, syringomyelia requiring immediate surgery (per doctor)
3. Mohammad Banazadeh Amir Khizi: joint pain
4. Hassan Sadeghi: joint pain
5. Aboulghassem Fouldadvand: arterial plaque requiring hospitalization (per doctor)
6. Arash Sadeghi: chondrosarcoma, surgical site infection in the right arm
7. Saeed Shirzad: herniated disk, lower back spasm

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One and Half Century of Imprisonment; Comprehensive List of 25 Baha’i Prisoners in the Provinces of Tehran and Alborz

HRANA News Agency  –Baha’is living in Iran are deprived of their basic human and civil rights due to their religious believe. Discrimination, demonizing, enmity, prejudice, hatred, persecution, murder and imprisonment are to name some forms of anti-Baha’i in Iran. Currently there are many Baha’I citizens imprisoned across the country. The following focuses on the imprisoned Baha’is in the province of Tehran and Alborz as one of the provinces with the highest number of Baha’is’ detention.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), currently at least 25 Baha’i citizens are enduring multiple bans and total of 160 years of imprisonment in prisons across province of Tehran and Alborz. Following is a brief report by HRANA on the latest status of these citizens in the center of the country who are solely imprisoned for their personal believes: Continue reading “One and Half Century of Imprisonment; Comprehensive List of 25 Baha’i Prisoners in the Provinces of Tehran and Alborz”

A Comprehensive Report on the Situation of 9 Imprisoned Bahais in Iran

HRANA News Agency – Fariba Kamal Abadi, Jamal-Aldin Khanjani, Mahvash Sabet, Afif Naimi, Saeed Rezai, Behrouz Tavakoli and Vahid Tizfah, are the seven administrative members of the Baha’i Community known as “Yaran-e Iran”, who along with Adel Naimi and Farhad Fahandezh have each been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. This 9 Baha’i citizens are currently serving their long sentences at Rajai Shahr Prison of Karaj and Evin Prison.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), “Yaran-e Iran” is the name of the group that were directing the administrative activities of the Baha’i Community in Iran.  This group was the replacement for the “National Spiritual Assembly of Iran” which was the administrative system and organizational structure of the Baha’is. This assembly was shut down by the Iranian Regime. Fariba Kamal Abadi, Jamal-Aldin Khanjani, Mahvash Sabet, Afif Naimi, Saeed Rezai, Behrouz Tavakoli and Vahid Tizfah, the seven directors of the Baha’i community, along with Adel Naimi and Farhad Fahandezh are 9 Baha’I Citizens who are currently serving their long 10 years imprisonment sentences at Rajai Shahr Prison of Karaj and Evin Prison. Continue reading “A Comprehensive Report on the Situation of 9 Imprisoned Bahais in Iran”

Afif Naimi Sent to Furlough / Shahin Eghdami Returned to Rajai Shahr Prison

HRANA News Agency – Afif Naimi, a former director of the Baha’i community of Iran, was sent to medical furlough from Rajai Shahr prison and Shahin (Jafar) Eghdami, political prisoner, returned to this prison at the end of the seven-day furlough on July 2.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Afif Naimi, a former director of the Baha’i community of Iran, was sent to a five-day medical furlough from Rajai Shahr prison and Shahin (Jafar ) Eghdami, political prisoner returned to the prison at the end of the seven-day furlough on July 2. Continue reading “Afif Naimi Sent to Furlough / Shahin Eghdami Returned to Rajai Shahr Prison”

3 Prisoners Returned to Prison / One Sent on Furlough

HRANA News Agency – Two ill prisoners, Afif Naimi and Karim Maroof Aziz returned from the hospital to Rajai Shahr prison. Also, Asghar Qattan, other political prisoner, returned to the prison by the end of his furlough. On the other hand, Farhad Beiruti, political prisoner, was sent on leave from Mahabad prison.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), two ill prisoners from hospital and one prisoner by the end of the leave returned to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, and one political prisoner was sent on leave from Mahabad prison, on June 8, 2016. Continue reading “3 Prisoners Returned to Prison / One Sent on Furlough”

The List Of Over 80 Political Prisoners In Rajai Shahr Prison In Karaj

HRANA News Agency – The following list includes names, warrants and charges of more than 80 political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and security in Rajai Shahr prison which has been prepared by the reporters of HRANA.
A diverse range of prisoners charged with political, conscience, military and security allegations are being held in Rajai Shahr prison. Although many of these prisoners are kept in separate rooms in Hall 12 but a large number of these prisoners are being kept also between non-political, criminals and sometimes dangerous prisoners unlike the principle of separation of crimes. Continue reading “The List Of Over 80 Political Prisoners In Rajai Shahr Prison In Karaj”