The Revolutionary Court of Bojnurd handed down prison sentences to Sholeh Shahidi and her two sons, Faran and Shayan Senaei, on January 9, 2024.

As per the recent ruling, Shayan Senaei has been sentenced to two years and two months, coupled with a fine, while Faran Senaei has received a two-year and six-month prison term, and Sholeh Shahidi is required to pay a fine.

In addition to imprisonment, the court imposed ten years of deprivation from certain social public services and the confiscation of some of their assets.

The charges leading to their conviction include “engaging in educational activities and propaganda against Islamic Sharia.” The court cited activities such as publishing posts on social media as examples of this charge.

Security forces arrested these Baha’i citizens at their Bojnurd residence on July 13, 2022. They were released on bail on August 4, 2022.

Notably, Sholeh Shahidi has previously faced legal challenges.

Baha’is are subjected to violations of their religious rights, comprising 82% of reports on infringements against religious minorities, according to HRA’s 2023 annual report.

The Baha’i faith is not recognized as a legitimate religion by Iranian authorities, leading to systematic and longstanding violations of the rights of Baha’is in the country. This includes the denial of their fundamental right to practice their religion, which constitutes a clear breach of both Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.