Dec10
More Baha’is detained; 26 currently in prison
Three Baha’is have been arrested in Mazandaran province, one in Ghaemshahr and two in Sari. Their homes were searched and Baha’i materials were confiscated. The arrests occurred on 18 November and 22 November.
In another case, three Baha’is were arrested and detained in Yasouj and a nearby town, in the province of Kohgiluyeh va Bouyerahmad. The detention was in connection with a personal project under which they provided moral education classes for local children. The attorney they retained was so intimidated by criticism from judicial officials that he resigned from the case.
At least 26 Baha’is are currently in jail or prison because of their religion. The number on a given day is difficult to determine, partly because authorities sometimes detain people secretly and it can take days for their families to determine with certainty what has happened to them.
Also, people are sometimes detained overnight or for several days, and this only becomes known later. In some cases, Baha’is are detained but then released on bail after depositing with the court a sum in cash or surrendering business licenses or titles to property.
Among those in prison are all seven members of a group that saw to the minimum needs of the 300,000 Baha’is in Iran, and three young adults in Shiraz whose case was the subject of an internal investigation — the results of which completely vindicated the prisoners.
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