Three Shiraz Baha’is Headed to Prison to Serve Sentences

Source: www.hra-news.org

Translation by Iran Press Watch

HRANA – Yesterday, three Baha’is living in Shiraz, Mahboub Habibi, Pejman Shahriari and Kourosh Rouhani, headed to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz to serve their sentences. Last month, in their appeal process, these Baha’is were sentenced to six months, six months, and three months and one day of imprisonment respectively.
According to the HRANA, the news arm of Human Rights Activists in Iran, on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, three Baha’i citizens living in Shiraz, Mahboub Habibi, Pejman Shahriari and Kourosh Rouhani, were headed to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz to serve their sentences.

These individuals were each previously sentenced to a one-year prison term in the lower court by the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, headed by Judge Mahmoud Sadati, under Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, under charges of “propaganda against the regime”. On April 17, 2019, in their appeal, Mahboub Habibi and Pejman Shahriari were sentenced to six months each, and Kourosh Rouhani was sentenced to three months and one day in prison.

On August 17, 2018, HRANA reported on the arrest of these Baha’is, along with three other Baha’is, , Dorna Esmaili, Hooman Esmaili and Negar Misaghian, by Shiraz security forces. After 37 days, Pejman Shahriari and Mahboub Habibi were released on bail on September 30, and another Baha’i, Kourosh Rouhani, was released on bail on September 24, until the end of their trial period.

Baha’is in Iran are systematically deprived of freedoms related to religious beliefs. This systematic deprivation is in direct contradiction of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to both of which Iran is a signatory: “All persons have the right to religious freedom, the right to change their religion or belief, and the freedom to express their belief individually or collectively, in public or in private.”

According to unofficial sources in Iran there are more than 300,000 Baha’is living in the country, but the Iranian Constitution recognizes only the religions of Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrian, and does not recognize the Baha’i Faith. This is why for many years Baha’is’ rights have been systematically violated in Iran.