Iranian security services have tried to extract forced confessions from a Baha'i prisoner amid a new wave of harassment against that faith.
According to a report received by IranWire, Payam Vali was told he would be released if he agreed to confess to the charges against him during a televised confession.
Vali is accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, cooperating with foreign media and inciting protests via social media.
Vali was arrested on September 24 after police raided his home and workplace in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. He was severely beaten by the officers after resisting arrest.
Vali has recently been transferred from Rajaee Shahr prison to Ghazalhesar prison. He has been denied access to a doctor.
The Iranian authorities’ crackdown on members of the Baha'i minority appears to have accelerated after the September death of a 22-year-old woman in the custody of morality police triggered protests across Iran.
Since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979, Baha'is in Iran have faced systematic discrimination and harassment, including deportation, restrictions to education, property confiscations, imprisonment, torture, and executions.
The authorities have not spared the dead: All Baha'i cemeteries in Iranian cities and villages have been confiscated and destroyed. New buildings were built on the burial grounds in order to leave no traces of the remains.
Baha'is number some 300,000 in Iran and have an estimated 5 million followers worldwide.
Shia Islam is the state religion in Iran. The constitution recognizes a number of minority faiths, including Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, but not the Baha'i faith.
visit the accountability section
In this section of Iran Wire, you can contact the officials and launch your campaign for various problems
Interested in writing for IranWire?
Share your stories.
comments