Source: iranwire.com
Hami Bahadori, a 26-year-old Baha’i citizen, was transferred to Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on Wednesday, 21 June, without the knowledge of his lawyer and family and sentenced to six years in prison, IranWire reports.
The court session concluded with an immediate announcement of the verdict. Bahadori was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “gathering and collusion,” with an additional one-year prison term for spreading “propaganda against the Islamic Republic under the guise of preaching for Baha’is.”
This resulted in a total of six years in prison for Bahadori, accompanied by a two-year ban on leaving the country.
The judge also ordered the confiscation of belongings seized by authorities from Bahadori and his wife.
These items included an iMac, laptop, camera with three lenses, hard drive, internet modem, and gold.
The court refused to accept bail after the court session concluded, promptly ordering the execution of the sentence.
This decision has raised serious concerns about the denial of bail and the swift implementation of the verdict.
Hami Bahadori was taken into custody by security agents in his private residence in Tehran on October 22, 2022, and has since endured indefinite detention for eight months.
The Iranian authorities’ crackdown on members of the Baha’i minority appears to have accelerated since July last year.
The clampdown has continued after the eruption of nationwide demonstrations in September 2022, with dozens of arrests reported over the past few weeks.
Shia Islam is the state religion in Iran. The constitution recognizes several minority faiths, including Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, but not the Baha’i faith.
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