Iranian Baha'i Woman Starts Serving Prison Term

A member of Iran’s Baha'i religious minority has presented herself at Vakil Abad prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad to start serving her one-year prison sentence.

Branch 1 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court handed down the sentence against Noushin Mesbah in October last year after convicting her of "membership in a group with the intent of disrupting the country’s security."

The trial proceeded without the presence of the defendant and her lawyer.

Baha’is have been systematically persecuted in the Islamic Republic of Iran because of their faith and are often accused of being spies or opposed to the Iranian government. 

No evidence has ever been provided to back these accusations.

Over the past year, the government has intensified its crackdown on members of the Baha'i faith, imprisoning dozens of them on spurious charges, as well as denying access to higher education, livelihoods, and confiscating or destroying personal properties.