Category: Minorities

26 Baha’i Citizens Sentenced to a Total of 85 Years in Prison

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Last Wednesday, June 8, 2022, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz sentenced 26 Baha’i citizens to a total of 85 years in prison as well as additional punishments such as a ban from leaving the country and residing in exile. According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, 26 Baha’i individuals were sentenced to a total of 85 years in prison. During the third court session held last Wednesday, these individuals were sentenced to a total of 85 years in prison and a ban from leaving…

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Azerbaijani Turk Activist Jafar Esmailzadeh Arrested in Tabriz

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On Tuesday, June 7, 2022, security forces arrested Azerbaijani Turk activist Jafar Esmailzadeh at his house in Tabriz. The agents confiscated some of his personal belongings. According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on Tuesday, June 7, 2022,  activist Jafar Esmailzadeh was arrested in Tabriz. The reason for Esmailzadeh’s arrest and his whereabouts are unknown so far. On prior occasions, Esmailzadeh faced other arrests and convictions. On May 29, 2019, he and his son, Milad Esmailzadeh were arrested and later released on bail of 50 million tomans…

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A number of civil and media activists arrested and summoned in different cities of Iran

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Following the ongoing violations of human rights in Iran, three media activists and civil activists critical of the Islamic Republic’s government were arrested in Tehran and Ahvaz in recent days, and two human rights activists were summoned to khuzestan judicial authorities. According to reliable human rights sources, two Ahwazi Arab bloggers and media activists, Reza Bavi and Fouad Sadeghi, were arrested by security agents on October 30, 2020, at Tehran International Airport (Imam) and the next day on October 31, 2020, Kamal Hosseini in front of Chamran University in Ahvaz.…

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Iranian Intelligence Shuts Down Church, Removes Cross

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The Assyrian Christian community in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz has been left in a state of shock after intelligence agents forced a Presbyterian church to close earlier this month, Assyrian International News Agency (Aina) reports. Religious freedom charity Article18 said: “Intelligence agents stormed the 100-year-old church, officially recognized as a national heritage site in Iran, on Thursday, May 9, changed all the locks, tore down the cross from the church tower, and ordered the churchwarden to leave.” “They made it clear that the Assyrian people are no longer…

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Iran’s Intelligence Ministry Slaps Azeri Rights Activist With New Charges, Claim He’s Organizing Protests from Prison

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Iran’s Intelligence Ministry is pressing new charges against prominent Azeri ethnic rights activist Abbas Lesani, claiming he has been organizing protests from inside the prison in the city of Ardabil where he is incarcerated. Since January 15, 2019, the 57-year-old activist has been serving a 10-month prison sentence in the capital of Ardabil Province, 373 miles northwest of Tehran, for speaking at the funeral of Hassan Damirchi, a prominent Azeri musician. For practicing free speech, Lesani was convicted of “propaganda against the state” “When he was put in jail there…

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Sentence Commuted for Activists Marking International Day against Torture

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Five of six activists detained and sentenced in 2016 for their observance of the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture have had their sentences commuted in the Appeals Court of Western Azerbaijan (located in northwestern Iran and home to Turkic, Azerbaijani, and Kurdish minorities). What was an eight-month prison sentence looming over Meysam Azadi, Morteza Zarrin, Vahid Nasibi, Gholamali Hossein-Gholizadeh, and Vahid Faezpour has now been reduced to a fine of 2.4 million Tomans (approximately $165 USD). The sixth activist, Somayeh Alidoust, did not appeal. In February…

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Prisoners in Iranian Baluchestan Brutally Tortured by IRGC Intelligence Unit

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At the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp’s Saravan Intelligence Unit, at least seven detainees have recently been subjected to torture. HRANA has identified two of these victims as Najib Dehvari, 21, and Abdolshokur Sotoudeh, 22, both from Saravan. Saravan is a city in Iran’s southeastern Sistan & Baluchestan Province, home to the Baloch ethnic minority group. Dehvari, Sotoudeh, and their comrades were initially arrested in connection to a sound bomb that went off in front of the Ministry of Intelligence Bureau in Saravan. There were no casualties. They…

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The situation of the recent detainees in Kermanshah and Ilam is still unknown

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Seven bloggers and human rights activists have been arrested in Kermanshah and Ilam, and after a few weeks, nothing has been announced/published about their current situation and status.   According to human rights sources, during a new wave of arrests, Bahman Maleki, Farhad Heshmati, Ali Kouchakpour, Keivan Mohamadi and Hosein Tahmasbi in Kermanshah, and Javad Kheibar and Laleh Aghaei, were arrested in Ilam and their situation is still unknown. The reports show that Bahman Maleki was arrested at work on 30 December 2017, and was transferred to an unknown location…

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Authorities’ Silence towards Shutting down of 102 Baha’i Owned Businesses in Mazandaran Province

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HRANA News Agency – By passing of more than 3 weeks since 93 Baha’i businesses were shut down in the province of Mazandaran and by passing of months since 9 Baha’i businesses were shut down in Tonekabon, relevant authorities have not given any formal and legal respond to the owners of these businesses. According to verbal statements made by relevant authorities, the warrant for closing and shutting down of Baha’i’s businesses in Mazandaran has been approved by the security council of this province; However in this 3 weeks, not even…

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Deprivation of Education for Afrooz Zabihi, a Baha’i Student in Her Fifth Semester

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HRANA News Agency – Fifth Term Civil Engineering student from Shahid Beheshti University, Baha’i Afrooz Zabihi, was banned from continuing her education after completing 90 credit hours, because of her religious faith. Miss Zabihi has several achievements in the Shining Genius Test in her name. According to HRANA, a close source to Miss Zabihi said “on Dec. 19, 2016, at the same time as the publication of the President’s Bill of Rights and the beginning of final exams, she was contacted on behalf of the Education Officer of the college. Moreover,…

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