January 4, 2019

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 ...

November 26, 2018

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 ...

November 19, 2018

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 ...

November 1, 2018

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 ...

October 2, 2018

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 ...

September 28, 2018

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 19, 2018

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 ...

July 29, 2018

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 ...

July 29, 2018

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 ...

June 14, 2018

Baha’i Student Expelled From Iranian University One Year Before Graduation

Soha Izadi was expelled from a university in the Iranian city of Zanjan, 207 miles west of Tehran, in March ...

May 16, 2018

Tehran International Book Fair Features Anti-Baha’i Literature by State-Funded Groups

State-funded publishers at Iran’s May 2018 Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) were permitted to offer dozens of books disparaging ...

May 14, 2018

“You Know What Your Problem Is:” Young Man Expelled From Iranian University For His Baha’i Faith

A young man has been expelled from the University of Gilan in northern Iran because of his Baha’i faith in another example of Iranian universities discriminating ...

May 13, 2018

Baha’i Leader’s 10-Year Prison Sentence Extended Despite Judicial Ruling That He Is Too Ill to Be Incarcerated

Afif Naeimi, the seventh and last imprisoned member of Baha’i leaders in Iran known as the Yaran, returned to Rajaee Shahr Prison near Tehran on April 23, 2018, at the end of his medical leave despite suffering ...

December 21, 2017

Baha’is Still Misunderstood in Iran, Says Former Leader After Serving 10 Years in Prison

Baha’i leader Behrouz Tavakkoli has spoken out about the Iranian government’s “misunderstandings” about his minority faith. Tavakkoli spoke to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on December 15, 2017, 11 days after his release from Rajaee Shahr Prison ...

December 7, 2017

Two Iranian Officials Publicly Break Rank and Discuss Discriminatory Policies Against Baha’is

Iranian officials are beginning to broach the previously taboo topic of religious discrimination in Iran. On the same day, two government officials publicly discussed discriminatory policies against Baha’is, one of Iran’s most severely ...

November 10, 2017

Three Baha’is Barred From University in Iran Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

Three young Iranians who complained to state officials after being denied university education for being followers of the Baha’i faith have been sentenced ...

November 5, 2017

After 10 Years in Prison, Faith Leader Fariba Kamalabadi Says Baha’is Hope to Serve Iran

In her first interview since being released from Evin Prison on October 31, 2017, Baha’i faith leader Fariba Kamalabadi said Baha’is “love” Iran and want to “serve” their country. “There have been a lot of reports about the ...

September 26, 2017

Freed Iranian Baha’i Leader Mahvash Sabet Describes Unjust Trial, Prison Conditions

“We never betrayed our country and never will.” Mahvash Sabet, a leader of Iran’s persecuted Baha’i faith who was released from Evin Prison on September 18, 2017 after completing a 10-year sentence, said she was convicted of espionage ...

September 25, 2017

Iranian Baha’i Students Offered University Enrollment in Exchange For Renouncing Their Faith

Two members of the persecuted Baha’i faith in Iran have been offered university enrollment in exchange for renouncing their religion, ...

September 18, 2017

Baha’i Leader Released from Prison in Iran After 10 Years; Six Other Baha’i Leaders Remain Behind Bars

Mahvash Sabet Finally Free But State-led Persecution of Baha’i Community Continues September 18, 2017—The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) welcomes the release of ...

April 24, 2017

Eight Baha’is Arrested Without a Warrant by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and Denied Legal Counsel

Seven Baha’i citizens were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry in Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, southern Iran, on April ...

April 4, 2017

Five Iranian Baha’is Arrested in Isfahan Without Warrant on Unknown Charges

Five Baha’is were arrested at their homes in the city of Isfahan on March 28, 2017, Simin Fahandej, the faith’s spokesperson at the ...

September 27, 2016

Baha’i Student Expelled and Banned from University for His Faith

Iranian authorities have ignored requests to reinstate a student expelled from a university because of his faith. Nineteen-year-old Faraz Karin-Kani Sisan was expelled from ...

May 19, 2016