HRANA – Parsa Soroushian and Rouzbeh Naseri, two Baha’i citizens residing in Karaj, were transferred on Sunday, November 16, to the Central Penitentiary of Karaj to begin serving their prison sentences.
According to information received by HRANA, on November 16, these two Baha’i citizens were detained after appearing at the Enforcement Unit of the Karaj Revolutionary Court and were transferred to the Central Penitentiary of Karaj to begin serving their sentences.
In a separate report, HRANA had already announced the enforcement of the prison sentences for five other defendants in the same case: Naghmeh Mirza-Agha, Mahin Sa’adatmand, Mahshid Sefidi, Samar Masoudi, and Naser Rajab. Among them, Mr. Rajab was transferred to the Central Penitentiary of Karaj, while the four women were taken to Kachoui Prison. These citizens had been summoned to the Enforcement Unit of the Karaj Revolutionary Court in mid-Mehr for the execution of their sentences.
Following an appeals hearing on September 8, 2025, Branch 12 of the Alborz Province Court of Appeals reduced their sentences to five months in prison, two years of travel bans, and two years of bans on social activity. Previously, each had been sentenced by Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court to ten months in prison along with additional penalties.
Naser Rajab has previously faced security-related persecution and arrest.
Over the past decade, the Iranian Bahá’í community has been disproportionately targeted by Iran’s security forces and judiciary, more than any other minority group. In the past three years, an average of 72 percent of the reports on religious rights violations collected by HRANA have documented the Iranian regime’s repression of the Bahá’í community.