Iranian authorities arrested ten Bahai women on Wednesday, announced a group representing this community, which denounces an escalation of repression against the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country.
According to the Bahai International Community (BIC), which represents the interests of members of this religious minority around the world at the United Nations, security forces, “without arrest warrant or prior notification”are “forced entries” in the houses of these ten women, then subjected to “painful and invasive searches”.
Bahais considered spies
The Islamic Republic, in which Shiism is the state religion, considers the Bahais to be heretics and “spies” linked to Israel, Tehran’s sworn enemy, with their historic global headquarters being in Haifa, in northern Israel.
“The Iranian government has once again shown its true colors”deplored Simin Fahandej, representative of the CIB to the United Nations in Geneva, describing these raids as “new senseless act against totally innocent women”.
For the CIB, these arrests “shocking” font “part of a systematic and growing campaign of persecution against the Bahais”.
Targeting Bahai women
In December, UN experts expressed concern about “what appears to be an increase in the systematic targeting of women” Baha’is in Iran.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch declared in April that the persecution of the Bahais by the Iranian authorities since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 constituted a “crime of persecution against humanity”.
The Bahais follow the teachings of Bahaullah, born in Iran in 1817, whom they consider a prophet and the founder of this monotheistic religion which promotes unity and equality.
Their faith is not recognized by Iranian authorities unlike other non-Muslim minority faiths, including Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. It is unclear how many members of the community remain in Iran, but supporters believe there could be several hundred thousand more.
Mahvash Sabet, a 71-year-old poet, and Fariba Kamalabadi, 62, were both arrested in July 2022 and are serving 10-year prison sentences. Both women had previously been imprisoned by authorities over the past two decades.
Mahvash Sabet faces being sent back to prison after being granted leave for open heart surgery, her supporters have warned, while Fariba Kamalabadi remains in prison.