Arrest of Baha’i Maryam Lagha’i in Damavand

Source: www.hra-news.org

Translation by Iran Press Watch

HRANA – Maryam Lagha’i (Forsatipour), a Baha’i citizen, was arrested on October 22 after being summoned to the Damavand Office of Intelligence and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention center known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. Authorities also searched the home of this Baha’i citizen after her arrest and confiscated several personal belongings, including a laptop and her cellphone, as well as her husband’s.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Maryam Lagha’i was arrested by Damavand Office of Intelligence on October 22, 2019.

Mrs. Logha’i was arrested after being summoned to the Damavand Office of Intelligence and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s Detention Center, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran.

Officers went to her home following the arrest of this Baha’i citizen and seized some personal belongings, including laptops and cell phones, as well as her spouse’s cell phone, during search of the location.

It should be noted that the day before Mrs. Lagha’i’s arrest, on  Monday, October 21, 2019, Mitra Forsatipour, a Baha’i resident of Gilavand, Damavand County, was also arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention center, Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

Baha’i citizens in Iran are denied the freedom of religious belief, which is a systematic exclusion, even though under Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of religion and religious conversion on the basis of conviction, and the freedom to express it individually or collectively and in public or in private.

According to unofficial sources in Iran, there are more than three hundred thousand Baha’is in the country, but the Iranian constitution recognizes only the religions of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not recognize Baha’ism; as a result, over the past number of years, Baha’is’ rights have been systematically violated.