Source: www.hra-news.org
Translation by Iran Press Watch
HRANA News Agency – Maryam Laghaei and Mitra Forsatipour, Baha’i citizens, have been serving their sentences in the women’s ward of Evin Prison since early August this year. Ms. Laghaei and Ms. Forsatipour had previously been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to 3 months and 1 year in prison, respectively.
According to the HRANA news agency, the news organ of the Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists, Maryam Laghaei and Mitra Forsatipour, Baha’i citizens, have been serving their sentences in the women’s ward of Evin Prison since July this year.
Mitra Forsatipour and Maryam Laghaei, Baha’i citizens of Gilavand, district of Damavand City, were arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents on October 20 and 21, 2018, respectively, and transferred to the detention center of Ward 209 of Evin Prison. At the time of the arrest, their home was searched, and agents confiscated a number of their personal belongings, including laptops, cell phones, and cameras. They were on bail, to await trial, shortly after the end of the interrogation process.
Ms. Forsatipour and Ms. Laghaei were later tried by a branch of the Revolutionary Court, on charges of propaganda activities against the regime. They were convicted and sentenced to one year and three months in prison each.
It should be noted that during 1996, the body of Mitra Forsatipour’s grandmother was exhumed by unknown individuals in the Baha’i cemetery of Gilavand (Golestan Javid); the number of exhumations of Baha’i deceased reached to two.
Gilavand is in the district of Damavand city and is located on the Tehran-Firuzkooh road.
Baha’i citizens in Iran are deprived of the right practice their religion. This systematic deprivation of their rights occurs despite Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which entitle any individual to freedom of religion and belief and also freedom to express it individually or collectively and in public or in private.
According to unofficial sources, there are more than 300,000 Baha’is in Iran, but Iran’s constitution only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism and does not recognize the Baha’i faith. For this reason, the rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated over past years.
September 23, 2020 1:25 am
What honor these two women have earned for Iran. Are there people who willingly chose the hard life of a prisoner as preferable to the easy life the state would offer? Yes, these two members of the Baha’i Faith would not simply utter the few words that would guarantee their freedom and elevate their circumstances. The hard road is what their hearts have called them to chose. This is the mature choice, the brave and selfless choice, this is the God path. Has any poet has said the life of faith is easy? Any philosopher? Any truly devoted lover of God? No, it is the opposite and that is how the Revolutionary Courts know who the Baha’is are. Given the choice they always chose the God path. The world is in awe at the nobility of Maryam Laghaei and Mitra Forsatipour.
September 23, 2020 6:04 pm
These innocent individuals are the tip of the iceberg I have been keeping a list of those Baha’i that have been arrested and imprisoned on false charges runs into the 100s like Koya Maleki (6yrs) Kiana Rezvani (12yrs) Yalda Firouzian(21yrs) and Faruq Izadinia (10yrs) I could go on and name them all on my list that grows and grows with each day, imprisoned for their faith.in this “ modern” world6
September 24, 2020 4:18 pm
Daughters of the Kingdom