Three More Baha'is Handed Prison Terms in Iran

Three members of Iran’s Baha'i religious minority have been sentenced to five years in prison each for alleged "membership in an illegal group aimed at disrupting the country’s security."

Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court also imposed a two-year travel ban on Waliullah Ghadamian, Mansour Amini and Attaullah Zafar. The trio was also banned from residing in Tehran and from joining any political or social group for two years.

The three were arrested on May 1 when security forces conducted raids on their homes.

Their arrest was connected to their involvement in assisting families in burying their loved ones at the Tehran Baha'i cemetery.

The Iranian authorities’ crackdown on members of the Baha'i minority appears to have accelerated since July last year.  The clampdown has continued after the eruption of nationwide demonstrations in September 2022, with dozens of arrests reported over the past few months.

A Revolutionary Court in the northern city of Qaimshahr has recently sentenced 14 Baha'is to a combined 31 years behind bars on charges of "deviant educational or propaganda activities contrary to and disturbing the Sharia of Islam." 

Shia Islam is the state religion in Iran. The constitution recognizes several minority faiths, including Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, but not the Baha'i faith.