Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

October 2008

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1. Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi

Fariba Kamalabadi, 45 years old, received her postgraduate degree in education, specializing in Developmental Psychology.  She is married with three children -  two daughters (one a 13-year-old high school student, and one, married, 20 years old) and one son who was recently married and lives in China.

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2. Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani

Jamaloddin Khanjani, a 76-year-old businessman, was the sales manager for Zamzam Company (a soft drink production company) and more recently he managed a brick factory. He is married with three children.

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3. Mr. Afif Naemi

Afif Naemi, a 47-year-old industrialist, was expelled from medical school because of his membership in the Bahá’í Faith. He is married with two sons.

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4. Mr. Saeid Rezaie

Saeid Rezaie, 50 years old, is a Farming Equipment Engineer.  He had a successful business maintaining farming equipment in Shiraz and later he moved to Tehran. In addition to his regular profession, he is a scholar and author. He is married and has three children.  Two of his daughters were among 54 Baha’i youth who were arrested in Shiraz in May 2006, while they were engaged in a humanitarian project aimed at helping underprivileged young people. Later they were released and tried.

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5. Mrs. Mahvash Sabet

Mahvash Sabet, is a 56-year-old former teacher with a degree in educational planning. While she was working as a teacher she attended a training course for special education Corps, which sent recent graduates to remote areas in Iran to teach in schools. She was expelled from both her job and the training, because of being a Bahá’í.  She is married and has two children.

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6. Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli

Behrouz Tavakkoli, a 57-year- old lecturer,  received a bachelor’s degree in social work and worked as a civil servant until he was expelled because of his belief in the Bahá’í Faith. He is married with two children.

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7. Mr. Vahid Tizfahm

Vahid Tizfahm is a 37-year-old optometrist and owner of an optical shop. He received his degree in sociology and later trained as an optometrist. He was born in Tabriz (northwest of Iran) and lived there until mid-2007 when he moved to Tehran with his wife and 8-year-old son.

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More detailed biographies of the seven leaders, are available here

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