Source: www.iranintl.com
According to the information received by Iran International, The fate of Keyvan Rahimian, Iman Rashidi and Yekta Fahandej Saadi, Baha’i citizens who were detained separately by the security forces in the cities of Tehran, Yazd and Shiraz between July 18 and December 18, is still undecided, and they continue to be in custody.
Among these people, Keyvan Rahimian was arrested on July 18 in Tehran, Iman Rashidi was arrested on October 5 in Yazd, and Yekta Fahandej Saadi was arrested on December 18 in Shiraz.
According to Iran International, Rahimian is currently in Evin prison, Rashidi is in Yazd prison, and Fahandej Saadi is in the detention center of the Shiraz Intelligence Department known as No. 100.
A source close to Rashidi’s family told Iran International that despite the final defense and the completion of the investigation, he is still being detained without reason and his case is under investigation in the Yazd Revolutionary Court.
According to this well-informed source, the order of temporary detention of this Baha’i citizen was extended once again on 2nd of February.
Rashidi had previously been arrested for being a Baha’i and was released from prison in 2018 after the end of his three-year sentence. Shabnam Motahed, his wife, was released from prison a year ago, after enduring two years of imprisonment.
Yekta Fahandej Saadi is still in the detention center of the Shiraz Intelligence Department, almost two months after her arrest.
This is the fifth arrest of Fahandej Saadi over the last 12 years.
According to the received information, the security agents have confiscated the personal property of this citizen, such as laptop, mobile phone, books, photos and even jewelry with symbols of the Baha’i Faith engraved on it.
The continuation of Rahimian’s detention and his undecided fate is while the court hearing on the charges of this Baha’i citizen was held on January 6, and the court has opposed his temporary release on bail until a final verdict is issued.
He is a translator, psychologist and one of the professors of the Baha’i Virtual University of Iran, who has previously been arrested and imprisoned.
In 2018, Rahimian was released from Rajaei Shahr Karaj prison after serving five years of imprisonment on the charges of educating young Baha’is who were deprived of education.
Rahim Rahimian, the father of Keyvan Rahimian, was shot by firing squad on April 4, 1984, because he was a Baha’i. His body was never handed over to his family and it is likely that he was buried in the Khavaran cemetery.
Afagh Khosravizand, the mother of Keyvan Rahimian, died on Tuesday, November 21, and her body was buried in Khavaran cemetery without the family’s knowledge or permission.
In the past months, the pressure of security and judicial institutions on Baha’i citizens has intensified.
In this regard, in a statement on December 4, 2023, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) issued a statement accusing Iran of employing brutal tactics to persecute the country’s Baha’i religious minority.
Unofficial sources say that more than 300,000 Baha’i citizens live in Iran, but the constitution of the Islamic Republic recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism religions.
Baha’is are the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, who have been systematically persecuted since the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
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