Source: iranbahaipersecution.bic.org
16 MAY – 22 MAY 2025
[This bulletin documents only the most significant acts of persecution and human rights abuses which the BIC has noted during the reporting period. It does not include those routine acts of discrimination to which Bahá’ís in Iran, whether as individuals or as a community, are subjected on a daily basis. The information presented in each bulletin is based on information available at the time of writing and may have changed subsequently.]
1. HOME SEARCHES
1.1: Baha’i Gathering Raided in Yazd
Mr Ahmad Naimi
YAZD PROVINCE: On the evening of Friday, May 16, 2025, in a repeat of previous incidents a Baha’i gathering in Yazd was raided by 15 security agents who entered and searched the venue of the gathering without prior notice or a warrant. They conducted widespread filming and body searches of all individuals from five-year-old children to eighty-year-old elders. All mobile phones, digital devices and personal belongings of the participants including books and religious jewelry were confiscated by the security forces. The agents also created a state of fear by wielding handguns and physically assaulted one of the young people present.
The home of Ahmad Naimi, one of those present at the gathering, was also separately searched. During this search, all religious items, picture frames, books, laptops, and mobile phones were confiscated by the agents. Mr. Naimi is now reportedly facing an ongoing judicial case.
1.2: The Home of Sonia Todiee Raided in Babol
MAZANDARAN PROVINCE: On Saturday, May 17, 2025, at around noon, five security agents entered the home of Mrs. Sonia Todiee, a resident in Babol and conducted a search of her home. The agents had apparently pressured her neighbors to permit their entry into the building. The agents, with an order signed by a Mr. Mortazavi, searched the house and filmed the proceedings. They confiscated her mobile phone, books, and other personal belongings.
2. ATTACKS ON CEMETERIES/BURIALS PROHIBITED
2.1: Deceased Baha’i Woman with Disabilities from Bagheyn Village in Kerman Was Denied Burial in Rafsanjan Until Her Family Was Compelled to Pay Exorbitant Burial Fees
KERMAN PROVINCE: It was learned on May 19, 2025 that Ms. Ahdieh Shojaie, a 56-year-old woman with intellectual disabilities and a former resident of Bagheyn village in Kerman Province, was forced to be buried in Rafsanjan, some 120 km distant from Kerman as a result of the forced closure of the Kerman Baha’i cemetery.
Ms. Shojaie’s burial only took place after her family were required to pay a substantial and unjust fee demanded by local authorities in Rafsanjan.
The Baha’is in Kerman face ongoing challenges as their cemetery, which was in use for 80 years, has been closed for burials by the local authorities since 2018. The closure, ordered by the deputy prosecutor, has forced families to transport their deceased loved ones to Rafsanjan, 120 kilometers away, for burial. The original Kerman cemetery included a mortuary facility built by the Baha’is. A portion of the original cemetery property has since been confiscated and sold by the authorities and has recently been levelled by the new owner.
Meanwhile the Rafsanjan Baha’i cemetery has also been under official attack by local authorities who have dug a 2-metre-deep trench all around the existing graves in the cemetery limiting its future use and expansion. The Authorities claim that the space between the existing graves is too large and are now forcing the Baha’is to bury their loved ones in the limited spaces between existing graves. Only a small entryway path sufficient for a small truck is now provided through the trench which makes it impossible to bring in excavation equipment to dig new graves in the hard ground.
In addition to excavating the trench around the cemetery the local authorities have commenced levying large and discriminatory fees for burials, even though all of the costs of preparation of the graves are already covered by the Baha’is.
The Rafsanjan cemetery site, allocated to the Baha’is in 2001, is situated in the desert along the Rafsanjan-Yazd road. However, it lacks any essential infrastructure, such as a mortuary building or meeting hall, as the authorities have denied permission for the construction of these necessary facilities.
Baha’is from both the Kerman and Rafsanjan communities have continued to pursue their rights to dignified burials, both through representations to officials as well as through the courts.
Entryway to Rafsanjan Cemetery
Entryway to the Rafsanjan cemetery limited by trench construction
The trench dug around the existing graves at the cemetery
3. OTHER
3.1: The following story is taken from a social media post by Fatima (Zohreh) Daadras, a Muslim woman who shared a prison cell with Nazila Khanipour, a Baha’i from Rasht
Nazila Khanipour and her son Vesal Heravi were both arrested by IRGC Intelligence agents on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Nazila was arrested from her home following a search of the house and the confiscation of personal items without a warrant. Vesal was arrested the same day from his workplace. This was not the first time that Nazila and Vesal had faced persecution. She was previously subjected to a form of banishment from Rasht due to her Baha’i beliefs and Vesal was expelled from his university studies by order of Iranian security forces.
Nazila was unjustly sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Rasht to two years and one day of imprisonment, a fine of 80 million Tomans, and five years of deprivation of social rights for allegedly “conducting educational and promotional activities contrary to Islamic law.” Her sentence was later upheld without a hearing by the Gilan Province Court of Appeal. The court ruling against Nazila cited her for sharing of images of Bahá’í temples on her private Instagram account, as well as authoring a book about the history of the Bahá’í faith in Gilan Province, which she had previously written in the 1990s, as evidence of her alleged crimes.
The following account, written by Fatima (Zohreh) Daadras, a Muslim woman who shared a prison cell with Nazila shares her experience of spending time with Nazila in that challenging time.
Nazila Khanipour
Fatima (Zohreh) Daadras recounts as follows:
On Thursday, February 20, 2025, Nazila Khanipour entered the prison ward. She and her son, Vesal Heravi, had no activities against the government and were imprisoned solely because of their Baha’i faith and honesty in declaring it.
Nazila rarely spoke about her beliefs or the hardships she experienced due to them and tried to live in the present moment. However, in prison she shared her experience of being deprived of civic rights which deepened our mutual understanding of religious oppression.
In the tense environment of the prison, even the smallest issues could spark intense conflicts. To live together peacefully and avoid loneliness and isolation, we emphasized our commonalities and avoided focusing on differences. Her good behavior, high spirits, willingness to participate in room activities, and interest in knitting were the commonalities that made coexisting with Nazila very pleasant. She quickly became one of the favorites in our room.
It was March 1st, and as Nazila got to know the people in the room better, she told me that this year, the Baha’i month of fasting coincided with Ramadan, and she would fast for 19 days starting March 2nd. As I traditionally began my fasts early morning for Ramadan, I was happy about this coincidence. She mentioned that she struggled to wake up for the pre-dawn meal, because in prison, there was no alarm to alert her. I offered to wake her up. On the pre-dawn of March 2nd, I called Nazila, and contrary to her concerns, she woke up quickly and calmly. We ate the eggs we’d saved from the night before as our pre-dawn meal and stayed awake until morning light.
During those days and the subsequent days of fasting, I often thought that if we had been left to our own devices, Nazila and I would not only have become good friends before prison, but our spiritual and religious experiences could have developed side by side just as they did during those days, becoming delightful and inviting. We respected each other’s identities and expected no conformity in our beliefs and convictions, yet there were many interests and reasons that could keep us together. We talked, knitted, read books, played games, laughed, and shared ideas to solve our problems in prison. The outcome of these interactions is a sense of longing accompanied by hope for a brighter tomorrow.
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