Two leading figures of the Baha’i religious minority, banned in Iran, have been sentenced to a new 10-year prison term each, a group representing this community at the United Nations announced on Sunday. Mahvash Sabet, 69, and Fariba Kamalabadi, 60, who had both previously served 10 years in prison for their activism, received new sentences following an hour-long trial on November 21, the court said. Baha’i International Community (BIC) in a statement.
The two women were arrested at the end of July as part of a new campaign of repression once morest the Baha’is, estimated at some 300,000 in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran grants freedom of worship to non-Muslim minorities, including Christians, Jews or Zoroastrians, but not to followers of the Baha’i faith. Their historic Baha’i World Headquarters is in Haifa, Israel.
At least 90 Baha’is currently in prison
Baha’is are considered heretics in Iran and referred to as “spies” linked to Israel, Tehran’s sworn enemy. At least 90 Baha’is are currently in jail or under surveillance, BIC says, further reporting 320 individual acts of persecution once morest Baha’is in the crackdown since late July.
Houses have also been destroyed and businesses closed as part of this crackdown, the same source added. “It is deeply distressing to learn that these two Baha’i women, who have both already and unjustly wasted a decade of their lives in prison for their beliefs, are being imprisoned once more for another 10 years on the same ridiculous charges,” said deplored Simin Fahandej, BIC representative to theHIM at Geneva. “There are no words to describe this absurd and cruel injustice,” she added.
Accused of espionage
The specific charges once morest them are unknown, but Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said in early August it had arrested “a number of members” of the Baha’i community, accusing them of spying in connection with Israel and spreading their faith.
L’Iran is also the scene of protests sparked on September 16 by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, following she was arrested by vice police for allegedly breaking the Republic’s strict dress code Islamic.