Baha’i Woman Sentenced to 11.9 Years in Prison, Banned From University in Iran
Yekta Fahandej Sa’di was sentenced to 11 years and nine months in prison for her Baha’i religious beliefs by a preliminary court in the city of Shiraz ...
Religious Freedom
Food With “Rodent Feces” Served to Political Prisoners in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary
The food served at the Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP) is unsanitary and has been found to contain rodent feces, making some prisoners sick, the wife of a political prisoner held ...
Elderly Baha’i Man Arrested for Third Time for Peacefully Practicing His Religion
While searching Ali Ahmadi's house, agents of Iran's Intelligence Ministry called him a ‘Baha’i dog’ and warned ...
Iranian Authorities’ Refuse to Allow Christian Convert Ebrahim Firoozi to See Dying Mother
Kobra Kamrani holds a sign that says "Ebrahim Firoozi." While battling breast cancer for the ...
Three Members of Persecuted Baha’i Faith Summoned to Prison in Iran While Five Others Arrested
Dorri Amri (Esmailpour), 44, began serving her one-year prison sentence in Vakilabad Prison in the Iranian city of Mashhad on November 14, 2018, for allegedly propagating her Baha’i faith, a source with knowledge ...
Iranian Police Relocate Buried Corpse of Baha’i Woman Without Family’s Permission
Iranian authorities have relocated the buried corpse of a deceased member of the Baha’i faith to a different cemetery without the family’s permission, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) ...
Sufi Prisoners Illegally Being Held With Dangerous Inmates in Tehran Penitentiary, Say Families
Dozens of Sufi prisoners are being illegally held in a ward for drug-addicted prisoners in the Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP), one of their relatives ...
Mehdi Hajati Banned From Shiraz City Council For Seeking Release of Detained Baha’is
Shiraz City Council member Mehdi Hajati made national news in Iran after he was arrested for seeking the release of two Baha'is who were arrested for their faith, which is severely persecuted against ...
Great Tehran Penitentiary Imposes Information Blackout on Eight Sufi Detainees Held in Solitary Confinement
It has been more than a month since the wife of a Sufi Gonabadi Dervish held in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP) has heard from her husband after he ...
Iranians Call For Freedom of Shiraz Councilman Who Tried to Secure Release of Detained Baha’is
Iranians have taken to social media to call for the freedom of Mehdi Hajati, a member of the Shiraz City Council who was arrested on September 27, 2018, two days after ...
New UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman Requests Entry to Iran
UN SRs on Human Rights Banned From Visiting Since 2005 The new special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, has requested that Iran ...
17 Baha’is Arrested in One Month in Iran
Seventeen members of the Baha’i faith were arrested by agents of the Intelligence Ministry throughout Iran between August 23 and September 23, 2018, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) ...
Rouhani Should Be Called to Account for Human Rights Abuses in Iran at UN Gathering
Mobile Billboard with Photos of Iran’s Political Prisoners to Circle UN Headquarters During Meetings September 19, 2018—As President Hassan Rouhani comes to NY to attend the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, the Center for ...
In Just Six Months, Iranian Universities Expelled 50 Baha’i Students For Their Religious Beliefs
Fifty Baha’i students have been expelled from Iranian universities in the current Iranian year (beginning March 21, 2018) because of their religious beliefs, according to Simin Fahandej, a representative of the ...
18 Sufis on Strike in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary Issue Three Demands
Eighteen Sufi dervishes of the Gonabadi Order are on hunger strike in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP) including Zafarali Moghimi, who is in ...
Detained Sufis Kept in Solitary and Dangerous Wards for Refusing to “Express Remorse” for Peaceful Prison Protests
A number of detained Sufi dervishes of the Gonabadi Order have been kept in solitary confinement or transferred to a ward with dangerous inmates because of participation in a protest...
Tehran Penitentiary Guards Launch “Brutal” Attack on Imprisoned Sufi Muslims
Guards in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP) attacked and beat detainees inside Ward 3 of the prison on August 29, 2018, and moved some ...
Four Christians in Iran Appeal Prison Sentences For Alleged Missionary Activities
Four Christians in Iran, including two converts, have appealed their prison sentences for alleged missionary activities, arguing that they’re innocent of the charges. “It is our expectation that the charges ...
Imprisoned Iranian Mystic Mohammad Ali Taheri Expects to Be Freed “This Week”
Shiite mystic Mohammad Ali Taheri, who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2011, expects to be freed on parole “soon,” according to his lawyer ...
Mass Conviction of Sufi Protesters “Unprecedented in Iran’s Judicial History”
Twenty Sufi Muslims, all members of Iran’s Gonabadi Order, have been issued heavy prison sentences by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran since July 2018 for allegedly attended ...
Man Convicted of National Security Crimes in Iran For Allegedly Promoting His Baha’i Faith
The Appeals Court in Iran’s Kurdistan Province has upheld a one-year prison sentence against Zabihollah Raoufi, who was accused of proselytizing his Baha’i faith. He has also been condemned to a ...
Woman Expelled From Iranian University Just Before Obtaining Degree Because She’s Baha’i
A young Baha’i woman was expelled from Iran’s Islamic Azad University in the city of Isfahan one semester before completing her bachelor’s degree in architecture because of her religious beliefs. “Sarir Movaghan ...
Iran Affirms Right of Constitutionally Recognized Religious Minorities to Run in Local Elections
Sepanta Niknam has reclaimed his city council seat in the city of Yazd, southeastern Iran, nine months after he was suspended by a local court because he’s a member of the Zoroastrian faith. ...
Four Female Sufis Sentenced to Five Years Imprisonment Each Under National Security Charge
Shima Entesari with her family Political Personalities Urge Authorities to Free Detainees Four followers of Iran’s persecuted Sufi Gonabadi Order ...
Iran: Stop Imminent Execution of Kurdish Prisoner, Investigate Evidence of Torture and Denial of Due Process
Fear Grows After Bus Driver Was Executed in Iran Despite Similar Concerns June 20, 2018—The Iranian judiciary should immediately annul the death sentence issued against Kurdish prisoner ...