Source: www.en-hrana.org
Last Sunday, March 13, 2022, Baha’i citizen Shahram Najaf-Tomaraei was sent to Evin Prison to serve his two-year sentence. Earlier, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to two years imprisonment.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Baha’i citizen Shahram Najaf-Tomaraei was jailed in Evin prison for sentencing.
On November 25, 2015, the security forces arrested him and after a while released him on bail for the duration of legal proceedings. During the arrest, the agents searched his house and confiscated some of his personal belongings.
Ultimately, in December of 2019, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to two years imprisonment.
According to unofficial sources, it is estimated that more than 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran, but the Iranian constitution recognizes only Islam as the official religion, in addition to Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Bahai faith is not considered legitimate by the authorities, and the rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated for years.
Freedom of religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations Covenant holds that every person has the right to practice religion freely, freedom of converting to a religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.
March 27, 2022 3:35 pm
Since 1979, the regime in Iran has been focused on enforcing a conduct of its own design. This enforced conformity was not seen in the kingdoms of the past and is not described in the historic or religious writings of Islam, and especially, this enforced conformity of thought is contrary to the Holy Book of Islam, which explicitly ordained that there shall be no compulsion in the matter of religion. If everyone sees and says and does exactly the same thing, always, how could the world accept to transform from the days of Promise to days of Fulfillment? This is the Promise: that there will be a Fulfillment of that Promise – and one is not the same as the other. This unfortunate arrest of Shahram Najaf-Tomaraei has nothing to do with protecting society from a criminal. Shahram Najaf-Tomaraei, according to God’s Holy Book, has committed no crime. But to claim the satisfaction of suppressing the Baha’is, the regime has characterized members of the Baha’i Faith as being anti-regime And of course that is false, and to make such a claim in the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, is a violation of every religious law. It is well-known to Iran’s leaders who know what Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah requires all Baha’is be obedient to the laws of the country in which they reside. And how could a people willing to accept imprisonment for their Faith be disobedient to the laws of Iran when that would be disobedience to their own religious teaching. May the guards and jurists of this modern Iran come to treat Baha’is as upright, noble and law-abiding. And may they become examples of fairness in their own right.