Baha’i Shahnaz Sabet Transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz to Serve Her Sentence

Source: www.hra-news.org

Translation by Iran Press Watch

HRANA News Agency – Shahnaz Sabet, a Baha’i citizen living in Shiraz, was arrested this morning, Monday, October 13, and transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz to serve her sentence. Ms. Sabet was previously sentenced by the Shiraz Revolutionary Court to six years in prison, which was reduced to two years on appeal.

According to the HRANA news agency, the news organization of the Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists, this morning, Monday, October 13, 2020, Shahnaz Sabet, a Baha’i citizen living in Shiraz, was arrested and transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz to serve her sentence.

Previously Shahnaz Sabet was arrested by security forces at her private home in Shiraz on September 1, 2019, and was later released on bail pending trial. Prior to her arrest, officers searched her home, confiscated some of her personal belongings and took them with him.

The trial of Ms. Sabet, along with several other Baha’i citizens, was held on Sunday, May 11, 2020. Ms. Sabet was finally sentenced to six years in prison by the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, headed by Judge Seyed Mahmoud Sadati, in late May of this year on charges of propaganda against the regime and membership in opposition groups.
After protesting the verdict, Ms. Sabet’s case was referred to the Court of Appeals, and in late July of this year, the Court of Appeals of Fars Province sentenced her to two years in prison.

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.