Religious discrimination has been a pervasive feature of Iran’s legal system since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Human rights abuses against Iran’s Bahá’í minority, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious community, constitute one of the most serious violations of Iran’s international human rights obligations. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, 202 Bahá’ís have been executed, killed, or kidnapped, while 14 have died in prison. Hundreds of Bahá’ís have been imprisoned, and at least 15,000 have lost their jobs or sources of livelihood. Bahá’í students have been barred from entering Iran’ s state-run university system since 1980. The policies implemented by the Iranian government have been delineated in a secret 1991 memorandum by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. This memorandum, which has been approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, explicitly states that Bahá’ís should be denied higher education and positions of influence, and that their progress should be blocked.

1. Introduction

Farzin Parsa was 21 years old when he was arrested on April 29, 1983. He was taken to Evin prison after three days of detention in other facilities, and he was told that he would be going to his trial. Instead, he was taken into a room and beaten. He was subsequently flogged. Parsa was interrogated several times and spent two months in solitary confinement. Overall, he spent nine months in prison before his release on February 13, 1984. During his detention he witnessed how other Bahá’í inmates were tortured. Several Bahá’í prisoners held in Evin prison at that time were later executed.

Over the past four decades hundreds of Bahá’ís have been detained and imprisoned like Parsa. Many more have been denied the right to education and employment. The breadth of human rights abuses committed against Iran’s Bahá’í community is indicative of the Iranian government’s program to subjugate and control this religious minority group. The broad outlines of this policy are explicitly stated in a secret 1991 memorandum issued by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and signed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The memorandum declares, “The government’s dealings with them must be in such a way that their progress and development are blocked.”[1] The memorandum further states, “They must be expelled from universities, either in the admission process or during the course of their studies, once it becomes known that they are Baha’is.” The document also provides, “Deny them employment if they identify themselves as Baha’is.” It also says, “Deny them any position of influence, such as in the educational sector, etc.”[2]

While this document was drafted in 1991, it delineates policies that were implemented right after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. In fact, attacks against the Bahá’ís had intensified in the months preceding the Revolution, heralding a dark period of severe persecution to follow in the aftermath of the establishment of the new revolutionary government. In 1978, at least seven Bahá’ís were killed across Iran, mostly due to mob violence.[3] In December 1978, following clashes between a number of Muslims and Bahá’ís, mobs burned 200 Bahá’í houses in Shiraz.[4] According to the Bahá’í community, 700 Bahá’ís became homeless and lost their means of earning a livelihood.[5] In January 1979 Muslim mobs attacked Bahá’ís of the Sadat-Mahmudi clan in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad Province.[6] The anti-Bahá’í sentiment that had emerged in the course of the 1978-1979 Revolution became state policy after February 11, 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers seized complete power.

This report first provides an account of the human rights abuses during the early post-revolutionary period. Then the report discusses human rights violations committed from the 1990s to the present. Next, the report provides first-hand accounts of witnesses experiencing various types of human rights abuses for being Bahá’ís. In the final section, the report discusses how the actions of the Iranian government with respect to Iran’s Bahá’í population violates Iran’s international human rights commitments.

2. Era of Mass Arrests and Executions: 1979-1989

The Islamic Republic’s worst human rights abuses took place in its first decade, during which Ayatollah Khomeini was the Supreme Leader. The Bahá’ís were no exception to this broad trend. Between the establishment of the Islamic Republic on February 11, 1979, and the end of 1989, 193 Bahá’ís were executed, killed, or kidnapped in Iran, while an additional 13 died in prison.[7]

The first Bahá’í to be executed by the new revolutionary government was Ali Akbar Khorsandi. He was arrested on April 4, 1979, in Gonbad-e Kavus.[8] He was subsequently transferred to Tehran, where he was executed by hanging on May 12, 1979. The exact charges against him are not known. Similar to other executions taking place at that period, he was not afforded a fair trial or other basic due process rights. The second Bahá’í to be executed was Bahar Vojdani. He was executed on September 27, 1979, after a short interrogation at the police headquarters of Mahabad, West Azarbaijan Province.[9] According to a brief will he left after he learned he was to be executed, he was sentenced to death because he had refused to recant his faith and had admitted to being a Bahá’í.[10]

Figure 1
Bahá’í Vojdani’s will was written after he learned that he was sentenced to death.

Executions, killings, and kidnappings of Bahá’ís continued in the following months. On May 6, 1980, three Bahá’ís were executed in Tehran, the first instance in which multiple Bahá’ís were executed together.[11]

Between February 11, 1979, the first day of the Islamic Republic’s reign, and August 21, 1980, twenty-one Bahá’ís had been executed, killed, or kidnapped.[12] On August 21, 1980, nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran, along with two other leading Bahá’ís, were arrested during a meeting. The fate of these eleven individuals is unknown to the present day, but they are presumed to have been summarily executed. According to a report published by the Bahá’í community, Iran’s Attorney General, Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardabili, initially confirmed that he had signed an order for their arrest, but afterwards he denied knowing anything about the circumstances of their arrest.[13] The Iranian government never took responsibility for the arrest of these 11 individuals. On September 8, 1980, seven Bahá’ís were executed in Yazd.[14] Their trial was televised in part.[15] Executions of Bahá’ís continued into 1981. In June 1981, seven Bahá’ís were executed by a firing squad in Hamedan.[16] Also in June 1981, seven Bahá’ís were executed in Tehran.[17] On July 29, 1981, nine Bahá’ís were executed in Tabriz.[18] On September 11, 1981, five Bahá’ís were executed in Daryun, Isfahan Province.[19]

2.1. Trial of the National Spiritual Assemble Members

On December 27, 1981, eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly were executed.[20] These individuals had replaced the previous group kidnapped in August 1980. Their executions were carried out in secret.[21] The group was comprised of seven men and one woman. In 2015, the video of the trial of the seven men surfaced.[22] The two-hour video revealed that the Bahá’ís were not represented by counsel. The identities of the judge and the prosecutor were not revealed as only the defendant Bahá’ís were on camera. The trial was held at the Tehran Revolutionary Court. In the beginning of the trial the presiding judge announced a summary of the charges against the defendants.

Following the announcement of the charges by the presiding judge, the trial proceeded by recitation of the Quran, starting from verse 5:33: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and spread mischief in the land is death, crucifixion, cutting off their hands and feet on opposite sides, or exile from the land. This penalty is a disgrace for them in this world, and they will suffer a tremendous punishment in the Hereafter.”

Subsequently, the indictment against the seven Bahá’ís was read in the court. According to the indictment, the charges were:

Creating psychological warfare and vast and treasonous propaganda against sacred values and political and religious figures of the oppressed and martyr-fostering nation and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world. Some of the broad themes of this propaganda is as follows:

1. 1. Considering the Islamic Republic of Iran’s government as “savage” and propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s policy of “no to East and no to the West.”
  2. Distorting the holy image of Great Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini, and shameless insults against esteemed Islamic jurists.
  3. Consultation, cooperation with, and instigation of international institutions serving international criminals, such as the United Nations and parliaments of Western superpowers, which they referred to as “just institutions,” in order to exert pressure against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which they referred to as “oppressing despots.”
  4. Approving the crimes of the Hypocrites [the Mojahedin-e Khalq], such as bombing the Islamic Republic Party headquarters and the office of the Prime Minister, assassination of Islamic figures and clerics, and accusing the wronged martyr Beheshti, and martyrs Rajaee and Bahonar, and 72 martyrs of the catastrophe of the headquarters of the [Islamic Republic] Party, of inhumane and criminal acts.
  5. Condemning and considering the meek stance of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as oppressive in the imposed war of the American superpower through the Bath regime of Iraq against Iran.

Establishing secret and continuous ties with Zionist agents and institutions throughout the world, particularly with the Bahá’í world central command headquarters in Israel, that is the House of Justice in Haifa, in order to exchange intelligence and obtaining orders from that center via phone calls, writing letters, and sending messengers.
Sending representatives for the purpose of holding secret meetings with Western diplomats and intelligence officers for the purpose of exerting international pressure against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and approval of this effort from the central headquarters.
Ordering Zionist and imperialist Western radio stations to disseminate poisonous propaganda and create a severe international atmosphere against the Islamic Republic of Iran, such as the Voice of America, the London Broadcasting Corporation BBC, the Zionist radio of the Quds Occupying Regime, and others.
Cooperating with the Bahá’í central headquarters in Israel for the purpose of gathering and espionage on news and confidential documents of the Foreign Ministry of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and publication of these documents in Western newspapers.
Gathering court rulings, government directives, newspaper clippings, fatwas of senior clerics and the Imam of the Ummah, for the purpose of sending them to Israel and creating a poisonous international atmosphere against the Islamic Republic of Iran.[23]

Following the reading of the indictment, the presiding judge stated that the defendants were not being tried for being Bahá’ís. Rather, they were being tried for the actions discussed in the indictment.[24] The first item of evidence against the defendants introduced in court was a report allegedly compiled by the National Spiritual Assembly, in which the slogans of pro-government protesters wishing death to the East and the West was referred to as “savage screams,” and Iranian authorities were called “oppressing despots.”[25] The presiding judge continued by reading portions of the report in which Iranian authorities were criticized, and their deaths by assassination seen as a consequence of their unjust actions. The judge stated that these words were tantamount to approving the assassinations of Iranian officials.[26] Sirous Roshani, the author of this report, stated that he had drafted it when he had been distraught because his loved ones had been killed, and that no other member of the National Spiritual Assembly had approved it.[27]

The trial proceeded by the presiding judge speaking about meetings and correspondences by Bahá’í defendants and foreign persons. Kamran Samimi, one of the defendants, stated that the National Spiritual Assembly had not taken any action against the Iranian government. He spoke about how Bahá’ís had been persecuted since the beginning of the Revolution, and that thousands of telegrams had been sent to Iranian authorities to no avail. Therefore, he reasoned, Iranian Bahá’ís had contacted foreigners in the hopes that their grievances could be redressed.[28]

The judge questioned the defendants about their contacts with the Bahá’í World Center in Israel, alleging that these contacts were crimes as the Bahá’í World Center cooperates with the Israeli government.[29] The judge questioned the defendants about sending a copy of one of Khomeini’s fatwas to the Bahá’í World Center, to which Kamran Samimi responded that the document had been published publicly and was not confidential in any way.[30] The judge also alleged that Bahá’ís have influence over foreign media outlets such as the Voice of America and the BBC.[31] Another item of evidence cited by the court was a letter from the White House during the Lyndon Johnson administration to American Bahá’ís.[32] The presiding judge repeatedly asked the Bahá’í defendants to condemn Israel for its actions against Palestinians.[33]

The court did not provide any evidence indicating that the Bahá’ís had engaged in espionage or any other subversive acts against the state. Nor did it accuse Bahá’ís of violating any existing criminal statute, violating international human rights standards with respect to ex post facto convictions. While the date of the trial is unknown, it was held between December 13, 1981, when the members of the National Spiritual Assembly were arrested, and December 27, 1981, when they were executed. The fact that they were executed only two weeks after their arrest clearly demonstrates the grossly unfair judicial process in which they were sentenced to death.

2.2. Imprisonment, Termination, Confiscation and Denial of the Right to Education

Hundreds of Bahá’ís have been imprisoned since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. At one point in 1986, there were 747 Bahá’ís held in Iranian prisons.[34] The Bahá’ís imprisoned in Iran in the 1980s were not charged with crimes codified in any penal statute. Rather, they were charged with vague offenses in an arbitrary fashion. A letter written in 1986 by Sina Hakiman, an imprisoned Bahá’í physician, demonstrates the arbitrary nature of the charges levelled against the Bahá’ís. Hakiman stated that he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on charges of “reporting lies, slander and calumny against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and as member of the Baha’i sect.”[35] The nature of ambiguous charges against Bahá’í prisoners can also be seen in a 1987 newspaper interview by Majid Ansari, the head of Iran’s Prisons Organization. In this interview Ansari stated,

There are no Baha’is in Iran’s prisons with the exception of those who are affiliated with the international Zionist network, and we explicitly declare that we are an enemy to the Zionists and not only do we fight with their agents inside the country, but also with Zionism and Israel outside the borders of Iran and our struggle against the Baha’is affiliated with Israel is not separate from our struggle with Israel itself. One of the proofs of the dependence of the Baha’is on Israel, is the crocodile tears that the leaders of infidel countries shed for them. When Reagan or the Israeli authorities formally shed crocodile tears for the Baha’is, we are certain that they are in practice the agents of Zionism because Reagan and their likes do not care for human rights.[36]

While hundreds of Bahá’ís languished inside Iran’s prisons, thousands more lost their livelihoods as they were fired from their jobs in so-called “purges.” According to the Bahá’í International Community, more than 15,000 Bahá’í have lost their jobs or sources of income since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.[37] Expulsions of Bahá’ís began soon after the establishment of the Islamic Republic. In December 1979, for instance, 51 Bahá’í military officers were expelled from the Iranian military.[38] In June 1980, 44 Bahá’í employees were fired from the Ministry of Education.[39] Denial of employment to Bahá’ís in the public sector was formalized in 1981 with the passage of a law entitled the Law to Rebuild Human Resources of Ministries, State Institutions, and Institutions Associated with the Government.[40] Article 29 of this law listed certain “crimes” that could be grounds for dismissal from public sector jobs. The eighth item listed under this article is “membership in misguided sects that are considered to be outside of Islam by the consensus of Muslims, or membership in organizations that their charters are predicated on denying divine religions.”[41] While this provision did not explicitly mention the Bahá’ís, the term “misguided sect” is often used to refer to the Bahá’í Faith. A directive from the Ministry of Labor published in Kayhan on December 8, 1981, explicitly stated that Article 29 of the 1981 law applied to the Bahá’ís, and that dispute resolution boards in workplaces were required to vote against Bahá’ís expelled from their jobs.[42]

While Bahá’ís were being fired from their public sector jobs, the government was also confiscating properties held by the Bahá’í community as well as individual Bahá’ís. A 1985 court ruling provides a good example of confiscation orders issued against Bahá’ís. This ruling declares in part

In accordance with the file documents, the said persons are members of the perverse Baha’i sect (pp. 85-86 and from 50 to 53), and five of the accused—numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5— fled the Islamic country of Iran before the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution (from 1333 [1954]) and embraced their infidel masters; therefore, confiscation of all their properties, movable or immovable, commodities, cash and all their bank accounts, for the benefit of the Islamic Republic Government, is permissible and legal.[43]

According to Miloon Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, the Iranian government had confiscated at least 640 Bahá’í-owned properties between 1980 and 2006.[44]

The Iranian Bahá’í community also had to contend with the denial of the right to education to its youth. Iran’s state-run university system was shut down in 1980 during the Cultural Revolution. When universities gradually reopened, Bahá’í students who had enrolled prior to the Cultural Revolution were expelled. In the following years, Bahá’í students were denied admission. The accounts of two Bahá’í university students expelled from university have been provided in Sections 4.3 and 4.4 infra.

3. Era of Sustained Pressure: 1989-Present

The worst aspects of the persecution of Iranian Bahá’ís eased after the conclusion of the first decade of the Islamic Republic. While 206 Bahá’ís lost their lives due to executions, extra-judicial killing, deaths in prison or abduction between February 11, 1979, and December 31, 1989, only 10 Bahá’ís have lost their lives between 1990 and the present due to these factors. The last Bahá’í to be officially executed to date by Iranian authorities was Rouhollah Rowhani, who was hanged in Mashhad on July 21, 1998.[45] He was accused of converting a Muslim woman to the Bahá’í Faith, but the woman stated that her mother had been a Bahá’í, and that and she had been raised as a Bahá’í.[46]

In August 2013, a Bahá’í named Ataollah Rezvani was fatally shot in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. According to the Bahá’í International Community, this killing was religiously motivated.[47] Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence had put pressure on Rezvani to leave the city, and they had caused his dismissal from his work by pressuring and threatening his employer.[48] Moreover, Rezvani had received phone threats from unknown callers.[49]

Figure 2
Ataollah Rezvani, a Bahá’í residing in Bandar Abbas, was fatally shot by known assailants in August 2013. Iranian authorities never resolved this murder.

Iranian authorities never resolved the murder, and they raised the possibility that Rezvani had committed suicide. The prosecutor responsible for investigating the murder once told the family that they can accept monetary compensation and close the case file in return. The family refused this offer.^[50]

3.1. Arrests and Imprisonments

Arrests and imprisonment of Bahá’ís subsided in the 1990s, with only a handful of Bahá’ís imprisoned in that period. Behnam Misaghi and Keyvan Khalajabadi were first detained without charge in April 1989.[51] In 1993, they were sentenced to death for being “warring infidels.”[52] The death sentences were later rescinded, however, and the two men were released from prison.

In the 2000s, as the Bahá’í community started to engage with the Iranian society through social and economic development projects as well as efforts to promote the Bahá’í Faith, the authorities arrested and imprisoned an increasing number of Bahá’ís. On May 19, 2006, 54 Bahá’ís and 10 Muslims were detained as they were participating in a tutoring program for underprivileged children in Shiraz.[53] Most were soon released, but three Bahá’ís were sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.[54]

In 2007, Iranian authorities arrested seven Bahá’ís who were in charge of the administrative affairs of Iran’s Bahá’í community.[55] The seven Bahá’í leaders were tried in 2010. They were charged with (1) forming a group aimed at acting against national security, (2) disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic, (3) gathering classified information with the intention of disturbing national security, (4) engaging in espionage, (5) collaborating with hostile foreign nations, and (6) conspiring to commit offences against national security.[56] The Bahá’í leaders initially received a 20-year sentence for forming a group aimed at acting against national security and espionage. That sentenced was later reduced to 10 years’ imprisonment as they were acquitted on the espionage charge.[57]

In May 2011, Iranian security agents arrested several Bahá’í educators involved in the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE).[58] The BIHE was established in 1987 by the Iranian Bahá’í community to provide higher education to Bahá’í students who are denied admission to Iran’s state-run university system. Considered an illegal organization by Iranian authorities, the BIHE has been subjected to raids and arrests. Thirteen Bahá’ís involved with the BIHE were convicted of national security crimes and sentenced to four to five years’ imprisonment.[59]

Nine Bahá’ís residing in Birjand, South Khorasan Province, were arrested on October 21, 2017.[60] Eight of them were sentenced to six years’ imprisonment on charges of membership in groups aimed at acting against national security and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic.[61] The ninth person was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison. On appeal, their sentences were reduced. Nasrin Qadiri, Farzaneh Deymi, and Banafsheh Mokhtari were sentenced to 15 months in prison. Arezou Mohammadi, Ataollah Melaki, Roya Melaki, Atieh Salehi, and Saeed Melaki were sentenced to 18 months in prison. Rahmatollah Deymi, who was originally sentenced to three years and eight months in prison, was acquitted.[62]

On May 19, 2021, six Bahá’ís were sentenced to long prison terms by the Dashtestan Revolutionary Court. Borhan Esmaili was sentenced to 11 years in prison, while Maryam Bashir, Faranak Sheikhi, Hayedeh Ram, Minou Bashir and Dorna Esmaili were sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.[63]

Sahba Farnoush, a Bahá’í residing in Tehran, was arrested on November 15, 2015. He was released in December of that year on bail. In January 2020 Farnoush was sentenced to 16 years in prison on three separate national security charges. On appeal, his sentence was reduced to two years’ imprisonment. On May 11, 2022, he reported to Evin prison to serve his sentence.[64]

3.2. Economic Pressure

While economic pressure against the Bahá’ís in the first decade of the Islamic Republic was marked with mass firings from public sector jobs, the following decades saw increasing pressure on Bahá’ís employed in the private sector. Iranian authorities have closed down Bahá’í-owned shops across Iran, often on the pretext of violation of trade association rules.

A 1999 letter by Hossein Mehrpour, a legal adviser to President Khatami, discussed how Iranian authorities had refused a Bahá’í veterinarian and Bahá’í welder work permits.[65] Mehrpour argued that these practices violated Article 28 of the Iranian Constitution, which guarantees the right to work. Despite this legal argument by Mehrpour, the Iranian government has continuously denied Bahá’ís employment. In 2008, Iran’s police force issued a directive mentioning various professional fields that should be off-limits to Bahá’ís. These professional fields included “publication of newspapers, publications of periodicals, jewelry, goldsmithing and watchmaking, printing houses, engraving, tourism and car rental establishments, publishers, and bookstores, inn-keeping, hotel industry, sewing schools, photography, filming, LAN gaming centers, computers and internet cafés.”[66]

In 2016, Iranian authorities shuttered 94 Bahá’í-owned businesses in Mazandaran Province.[67] The legal pretext for closure of these businesses was that the Bahá’ís had closed their shops in observance of Bahá’í holidays. Under the law governing trade rules, for a business to be subject to disciplinary action for closure without cause, it must be closed down for at least 15 days.[68] Therefore, closing businesses for Bahá’í religious holidays does not violate Iran’s trade rules as there are no more than nine holidays in the Bahá’í Faith per year. Iranian authorities told Bahá’ís in Mazandaran Province that they could reopen their businesses if they pledged to the authorities that they would notify them in advance when they wanted to close their businesses, but the Bahá’ís refused as this was an extra-legal demand and only imposed on the Bahá’ís.[69]

In 2017, Iranian authorities closed down 22 Bahá’í-owned businesses in Oroumieh, West Azarbaijan Province.[70] In November 2018, authorities in Khorramshahr, Khuzestan Province, closed down four Bahá’í-owned businesses. One was a shop selling sewing machines, one was a motorcycle mechanic shop, and two were optical stores.[71] In December 2018, the Court of Administrative Justice rejected the claims of 17 Bahá’í business owners whose places of business in Kerman were closed down in 2015.[72] In January 2019, a Bahá’í-owned business in Birjand, South Khorasan Province, was closed down. The business, which sold computer-related supplies, had not been able to renew its operating permit for ten years.[73] In May 2019, Iranian authorities raided the homes of two Bahá’ís in Qamsar, Isfahan Province, and confiscated the tools they used to produce rosewater.[74]

Closures of Bahá’í-owned businesses are technically temporary, but they often last for years. Occasionally, however, local officials issue orders in favor of Bahá’ís. On May 1, 2017, for instance, the authorities closed down 18 Bahá’í-owned businesses in Shahinshahr, Isfahan Province. The local governor, however, ordered that they should be reopened on May 14, 2017.[75]

4. Testimony of Witnesses

This section includes accounts of witnesses who have been subjected to human rights violations due to being Bahá’ís. The accounts provide insights into various aspects of Iran’s discriminatory policies against the Bahá’ís over the past four decades.

4.1. Farzin Parsa

Farzin Parsa was born on November 3, 1961, in Tehran. When he graduated high school, he could not go to university because Iranian universities were closed due to the Cultural Revolution. Parsa opted to complete his military service to both serve his country and keep himself eligible for attending university once the universities reopened.[76] By the time universities reopened, however, it was clear that Bahá’ís were not allowed to enroll. Parsa was never able to attend university in Iran. Instead, he experienced arrest and imprisonment. In an interview with IHRDC, Parsa described his ordeal.

On April 29, 1983, Parsa and a Bahá’í friend of his had gone to the gravesite of Bahá’ís who had been unceremoniously buried after execution.[77] Their gravesite is located at Khatun Abad Cemetery, in the vicinity of Khavaran Cemetery, where the Iranian government has buried executed leftist political prisoners. As Parsa described, a few Revolutionary Guards suspected him and his friend of being leftists, and they arrested them. The guards had also arrested two Fedaian-e Khalq (majority faction) sympathizers. Parsa, his Bahá’í friend, and the two Fedaian-e Khalq sympathizers were blindfolded and taken to the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards near Khorasan Square, and subsequently to the central headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards near the parliament building.[78] The first interrogator who questioned Parsa and his Bahá’í friend realized that they were young Bahá’ís, and he wanted to release them, but he was persuaded by another guard to hold them overnight so they could be questioned by the interrogator who specialized in interrogating Bahá’ís.[79] On the next day Parsa was interrogated, but he described the atmosphere as calm.[80] The questions were ideological, and Parsa gave lengthy answers based on his knowledge of Bahá’í principles.[81]

After three days, Parsa, his Bahá’í friend, and the two Fedaian-e Khalq sympathizers were told that they would be sent to court.[82] They were taken to Evin prison, where a large number of young men were in a hallway. The guard who took them in made Parsa sit down next to a door. Parsa was wearing blindfolds. An interrogator asked him what his name was. Then he told Parsa to get up and go into a room. What happened next took Parsa by surprise.

I got up. He went in walking backwards. I later realized that this was a system they had practiced and was not their first time. As soon as I reached the door frame, he punched me in the stomach. It was painful. My first reflex was that I clasped my hands and bent forward. As soon as I bent forward, he banged the door into my head.[83]

In prison this interrogator was referred to as Tolouee. He interrogated and tortured many Bahá’ís during that period. His real name was Alireza Qasemzadeh Hosseini, and he was killed in 1986 at the war front during the Iran-Iraq war. Parsa stated that Tolouee and three other interrogators beat him.[84] They then obtained an order from a judge to flog him.[85]

They told me to take off my shoes. I took off my shoes. “Take off your socks,” they said. I took off my socks. “Lie on the bed,” they said. I thought I was supposed to sleep on the bed. I lay on the bed on my back! They all burst out laughing. “No! Lie on the bed the other way!” At that point I realized what was going on. I lay on the bed on my stomach. They tied my hands and feet. I think they stuffed my own socks into my mouth. I could not see as I was blindfolded. Two people flogged the soles of feet. Another one sometimes flogged on the head, sometimes on the waist, and sometimes on the neck.[86]

Parsa stated that he promised himself that he would not make any sound when he was being flogged.[87] He was able to refrain from shouting in pain through seven lashes. At that point one of the interrogators said, “This has no use. Give me the yellow one.” They then proceeded to flog Parsa with a device much more painful than the first, causing Parsa to howl in agony.[88] According to Parsa, the most common flogging devices were water and gas hoses. They also flogged with cable, which caused the most damage.

Parsa’s friend, who was sitting outside and could hear Parsa’s flogging, later told Parsa that he had counted up to 120 lashes before he was brought in himself.[89] Parsa noted that at this stage the interrogators were not asking any questions or seeking any information from him.[90] In other words, at this point the torture was not meant for extracting intelligence. After being flogged, Parsa was taken back to the hallway. He suffered a convulsion due to the torture he had endured.[91] Parsa was then interrogated. During the questioning, one of the guards named Mohammad Reza kicked him in the neck from behind. He was wearing military boots when he kicked Parsa.[92]

On subsequent days, more Bahá’ís arrived at Evin prison. Interrogations began at 5 or 6 am and lasted until 5 or 6 pm, and perhaps even later.[93] Parsa described the various methods used by guards and prison officials to humiliate and torture the Bahá’ís. One night as they were sleeping, a guard came over and said, “Bahá’ís are not supposed to sleep! Get up and go stand next to the wall! Mark time!”[94] Parsa and the other Bahá’í prisoners started to march in place as instructed by the guard. They marched in place for about twenty minutes. At that time, another guard came and asked them why they were marking time. They responded that they had been ordered to do so by a guard. The second guard told them to go back to sleep.[95]

Parsa witnessed the torture of many Bahá’ís held in Evin prison during that period. For instance, he saw how Rahim Rahimian, a Bahá’í prisoner who was later executed, had lost his voice after being tortured.[96] Rahimian was also tied to a pulley, pulled up, and flogged.[97] Parsa also witnessed the severe torture of Sharqieh Imani, a Bahá’í woman.

They started Ms. Imani’s interrogation at 6 am. They beat her cruelly. They took her in several times. Her feet were so badly bruised that she could not walk. When they wanted to take her from the flogging room to Branch eight for interrogation, they had to walk a bit. Ms. Imani crawled on all fours. She could not walk on her feet. They ridiculed her. They said, “She’s become a sheep. Say baa!” They humiliated and insulted her a lot. I recall that she lost consciousness while being flogged. I could tell from the noise. They brought in a doctor for her. I do not know what this doctor’s job was. Obviously, it was not to treat her. He gave her an injection so that she would regain consciousness. And it began again.[98]

Parsa and other Bahá’í prisoners were transferred to Rajaee Shahr prison, commonly known as Gohardasht prison among inmates at that time. Parsa and other Bahá’ís were put in solitary cells.[99] Mistreatment and torture of Bahá’í prisoners continued in Rajaei Shahr prison. Parsa described how the guards at Rajaei Shahr played mind games with prisoners.

Sometimes they pretended that you are in the execution list. For instance, [the guard] would come in the middle of the night and open the hatch. He would knock on the glass covering the hatch. He would say, “Come forward.” I would go.] He would ask [in a hushed tone], “What is your name?” Keep in mind that I had just woken up. “Farzin Parsa,” I responded. “Shh! Quiet! What is your name?” he said [in a hushed tone]. “Sorry. Farzin Parsa,” I said [in a hushed tone]. He pretended to look at a sheet of paper. “Ok, yes, that’s correct. Go back to sleep,” [he said quietly]. But you cannot sleep![100]

Another humiliating treatment by prison authorities was telling Bahá’ís that they were ritually unclean (najis) as infidels. Under Islamic jurisprudence, water can transfer uncleanliness from a ritually unclean person to a Muslim. Therefore, prison guards avoided touching Bahá’ís, particularly in situations where wetness could transfer ritual uncleanliness. Parsa described one such incident:

I recall that during Ramadan they were giving tea after iftar. They would open the cell doors and tell us to slide our cups out. When [the guard] gave Mr. Rahimian’s tea, he said, “Don’t give me a wet cup again!”[101] He closed the door and walked toward my cell. Listening to the sound of him walking, I realized that he returned to Mr. Rahimian’s cell. He opened the door. He said, “Do you realize why I told you that you should not hand me a wet cup? Oh, where’s your tea?” Mr. Rahimian said, “I threw it away.”[102]

According to Parsa, having tea was an especially important part of the day during the idleness of solitary confinement. Nevertheless, the remarks of the guard were so humiliating that Rahim Rahimian decided to throw away his tea.[103] On another occasion, Parsa witnessed the flogging of Molouk Khadem when she extended her hand to drink a glass of water in the interrogation room after having gone days without having water.[104]

Parsa was transferred back to Evin prison’s ward 325-5 after 60 days in solitary confinement at Rajaee Shahr prison.[105] He described how Bahá’ís were detained and tortured solely on the account of their religious faith. Among the Bahá’í prisoners was an elderly man named Gholam-Ali Nikkhah. He was an illiterate locksmith who had become a Bahá’í. His son, who was a Muslim and a member of the Basij, had put his father in prison and told the authorities that he was an apostate.[106] He was later released from prison.

Jamal Kashani, a Bahá’í residing in Mianjaddeh, in the vicinity of Karaj, was another prisoner who was tortured while Parsa was in prison. Parsa stated that one day he saw Kashani bruised all over his body after he was interrogated.[107] Kashani told Parsa that the interrogators wanted to take him to Karaj so that he would guide them to the homes of Bahá’ís in Karaj. Kashani added that he would throw himself out of the car if they took him.[108] That night prison officials called Kashani’s name over the prison’s PA system and took him in. Days later, when he came back to the ward, he told Parsa that the authorities had indeed taken him to Karaj, and he had thrown himself out of the car and into the street to avoid leading the authorities to other Bahá’ís.[109] Nevertheless, Kashani was eventually forced to identify members of the Karaj Bahá’í Assembly to the authorities.[110] Among the tortures Kashani had been subjected to was being handcuffed to a door while standing. He was kept in that position for several days, and his hands were untied only three times a day for eating and going to the restroom.[111] Kashani was executed on December 9, 1984.[112]

A recurring element of interrogation of Bahá’í prisoners was the accusation of ties to foreign states, particularly Israel. Parsa described how Tolouee questioned him and two other Bahá’ís about this topic. He first asked Parsa whether he was willing to condemn Israel’s crimes. Parsa responded that he would condemn the crimes of any country that commits crimes, including Israel. Tolouee then told him that Bahá’í leaders did not condemn Israel, and he summoned Molouk Khadem, a member of the Tehran Bahá’í Assembly. He asked Khadem if she, as a member of the Tehran Bahá’í Assembly, would condemn Israel’s crimes. Khadem responded that she was not a member of Tehran Bahá’í Assembly since the moment she was arrested, and, as such, she could not make a statement on behalf of the Tehran Bahá’í Assembly.[113] The interrogators beat and flogged Khadem after this response.[114] The interrogators then brought in Jahangir Hedayati, a member of the Bahá’í National Assembly of Iran. They asked him whether he condemned Israel’s crimes. Hedayati stated that he could not do it because it was against his religious principles to get involved in political matters.[115] Hedayati was executed on May 15, 1984.[116]

Another recurring aspect of the interrogations that Parsa experienced was the attempt to convert him to Islam during special interrogation sessions conducted by a different interrogator. This interrogator, who went by the name Mojtaba, engaged in religious and ideological debates with Parsa.[117]

Parsa was never formally charged with a crime. He was released on bail on February 13, 1984.[118] After his release from prison he briefly worked as a taxi driver. He then worked as a private math and physics tutor for several years. In late 1989 or early 1990, Parsa left private tutoring and established a factory with his friend. They produced aluminum pipes and aluminum profiles.[119] In late 1990s Parsa decided to leave Iran, but he realized that he was barred from leaving the country due to his imprisonment in 1983-84.[120] After repeated visits to the prosecutor’s office, he was allowed to obtain a passport. His passport, however, was valid only for a one-time exit from Iran within one year.[121] Parsa and his family left Iran on March 25, 2000.[122] They settled in Georgia, United States.

4.2. Molouk Khadem

Molouk Khadem was a member of the Tehran Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA). She was arrested on July 24, 1983, at her home in Tehran.[123] She was taken to Evin prison. Her interrogation started on the next day.[124] She was told she was charged with three crimes: being a member of the Tehran LSA, being a delegate at the Bahá’í National Convention, and being an alternate member of the NSA.[125] She responded that she was not a delegate, and that she did not know that she was an alternate member of the NSA.[126] She was sent to the flogging room. The interrogators had her lie down on a spring bed. One of the guards uttered, “In the name of God,” and proceeded to flog her.[127] He flogged the soles of her feet. Then he forced her to walk barefoot in that room for two hours. They had poured sand on the floor.[128] The guard then violently banged Khadem’s head to the wall. Her face was bruised. The guard proudly showed her face to others and said, “Look! I have planted two eggplants!”[129] A while later the guard who was in charge of bringing food asked her if she were a Bahá’í. She said that she was. The guard said, “So you will not have food.”[130] Khadem was flogged again on the next day when she said that she could not eat the green peas in her food.[131] On the third day she was beaten by five guards.[132] She was taken to the solitary ward of Rajaee Shahr prison on July 28, 1983.[133] According to Khadem, she could not hear anything in the solitary cell except the sounds of agony and pain.[134] On August 7, 1983, she was interrogated again. She was asked to condemn Israel. When she refused on account of her religious principles, the guard dry-fired a handgun above her head as a means of torture.[135] She was asked about Israel in her next interrogation too. The question put to her in writing was: “How do you provide reports to Israel?”[136] She responded that she did not provide any reports to Israel. The interrogator kicked her so hard that she fell to the ground.[137] The interrogator then left for lunch. Other guards, however, came in and beat her on several occasions.[138] She was flogged again later in the same day.[139] Khadem used salt to treat her wounds.[140]

Khadem was transferred back to Evin prison on September 19, 1983.[141] She was placed in a room which also housed Muslim prisoners. On the next day, a guard learned that she was a Bahá’í and insulted her for not informing him of her faith the night before. The guard was angry because he considered Khadem to be ritually unclean.[142] After interrogation, Khadem was instructed to sleep in the hallway. When a disturbance broke out in the hallway, a female guard took Khadem to the room in which she had been the night before, but she made her promise that she would not touch anything.[143] The issue of ritual uncleanliness resurfaced days later. One day, as she was sitting in the hallway waiting for interrogation, a guard was flogging a female Muslim prisoner in another room. The woman had a child who was two or three years old. During the flogging, the child screamed, “Uncle! Don’t hit my mom!” This was very heartbreaking to the prisoners sitting in the hallway. When the child came out of the room, Khadem gave the child a few prunes and figs. A guard immediately came over and took the prunes and figs from the child and hit Khadem in the head. The guard told the child that Khadem was a Bahá’í, and that the child should not take ritually unclean items from her.[144]

Khadem was again transferred to Rajaee Shahr prison on October 15, 1983.[145] She was put in a solitary cell. A female guard who was concerned about ritual cleanliness told her that at the time of receiving her meal, Khadem should hold the plate in a way that the guard’s spatula would not touch it. She also told her that she should stand in a way that her hands and clothes did not touch the walls of the cell.[146] One day Khadem was taken to take a cold shower. That female guard had taken the blankets to have them washed. She did not give Khadem any blankets to warm herself after the cold shower. Khadem shivered all night long in her cell.[147]

Khadem was interrogated again on December 13, 1983. She was asked about emergency plans devised by Bahá’í administrative bodies, but she did not know anything about them. When she said that she did not know anything she was flogged yet again.[148] Khadem was transferred back to Evin prison on January 11, 1984.[149] Khadem was interrogated again upon her arrival at Evin prison.[150] She also witnessed the guards hauling in the items they had seized from the homes of the Bahá’ís, gloating about taking their belongings.[151]

On January 16, 1984, Khadem’s interrogation came to the conclusion.[152] An official stood in front of her and said, “I wrote you a beautiful indictment, and I have asked for a more beautiful death sentence.”[153] The first session of her trial was held on January 17, 1984.[154] She was tried alongside three members of the NSA: Shapour Markazi, Jahangir Hedayati, and Ahmad Bashiri.

On the morning of January 17, 1984, they took the four of us to the upper floor and sat us down in the hallway. The investigative judge had a swagger as he was carrying the case files under his arms. He stomped on the floor, and he would go back and forth and took the defendants to the courtroom one by one. He had hanged a yellow detergent container box behind the door. With a child-like handwriting, he had written, “Court is in session. Do not interfere.” This showed that this was not a real trial.[155]

Khadem was taken in after the three NSA members were tried.[156]

They called me in. The judge was sitting behind a desk. The interrogator, acting as a secretary, was sitting on the other side. I took off my blindfolds, said hello, and sat down. The man who was drinking tea looked at the sheet of paper in front of him and asked, “Your name is Molouk Kha..” The interrogator interjected, “Sir, her name is Molouk Khadem.” Then he started to read the charges against me: promoter [of the Bahá’í Faith], encourager, Auxiliary Board Member, members of the assembly…” He had not finished the rest when I said, “Thank you for the titles and positions that you afforded me. I accept all of them. But I am not a spy.”[157]

She was then asked about her property, including her car. She responded that they could have her car.[158] She was questioned about her efforts to promote the Bahá’í Faith.[159] Then the judge asked her how many children she had. The interrogator sneered and said that she was “a girl.” The judge then wrote, “She’ll leave as a girl too,” which meant that she would be executed.[160] Khadem said goodbye and stood up without saying anything else. They gave her a sheet to sign. The sheet detailed the proceedings. She signed the document without reading it as she knew what it said.[161] She sat outside the courtroom along with the three other Bahá’ís. Then they were taken downstairs. The three men were taken to the ward, but she had to sit in the hallway.[162]

After spending two days in the hallway, Khadem was again taken to Rajaee Shahr prison on January 19, 1984.[163] She was taken back to Evin prison on May 7, 1984.[164] During this period Khadem expected to be executed. She was held in solitary confinement. One day a young man came to her cell to provide “guidance.”[165] He advised her that if she became a Muslim her punishment would be less severe. According to Khadem such “guidance” sessions were frequent in prison.[166] On July 29, 1984, Khadem was taken to the ward.[167] There were about 40 women in the room in which she was placed. Seven of those women were Bahá’ís.[168]

In October 1984 Khadem was called in for her second trial session. The judge and the court secretary were each sitting behind a table.[169] The judge read the indictment. Khadem’s crimes included promoting the Bahá’í faith and misguiding young people.[170] Khadem responded that she had never forced anyone to become a Bahá’í, and that she had simply shared what she considered valuable with others.[171] After this trial session, Khadem was told that her death sentence had been confirmed.[172]

On December 23, 1984, Khadem was transferred to another room. There were 34 women in this room. Of those, 26 were Bahá’ís and eight were leftists.[173]

On March 27, 1985, Khadem was called in for her third trial session.[174] She sat behind the courtroom door until 2 pm while blindfolded.[175] She stated that several people said, “You traitor, you’re still alive?” as they passed by her.[176] This time the judge was the only person in the room. He asked her questions that were asked in prior sessions. Khadem indicated that her answers and her beliefs remained the same.[177] The judge looked at the papers in front of him and asked Khadem if her mother’s name was Shamsi.[178] She said that it was. This indicated that Khadem’s mother had written[179] to the authorities and pleaded for her freedom.[180] The judge asked Khadem if she had anything to say. Khadem replied that she was their prisoner, and she would accept any verdict they issued.[181] Khadem indicated that her statements in that session might have saved her life.[182]

On April 27, 1985, Khadem was called in to be informed of her sentence.[183] She was told that her sentence was 10 years’ imprisonment, and it was to commence from March 27, 1985. Considering the time already served, her sentence would amount to 11 years and nine months.[184] Underneath her sentence Khadem wrote that she did not deserve this sentence, she was obedient to the government, and that she wanted to appeal. Her appeal was never heard.[185] When Khadem got back to her ward, she made the sign of the number 10 with her fingers, informing the inmates at her ward that she had been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.[186] The women in her ward rejoiced that her life had been spared.[187]

Khadem was again transferred to Rajaee Shahr prison on July 4, 1985.[188] Over nine months over 200 inmates learned various types of knitting and sewing from Khadem, including prisoners who had previously insulted her.[189] She was taken back to Evin prison on March 15, 1986.[190] On April 27, 1987 she was transferred to Rajaee Shahr prison again.[191] She was taken to Evin prison again in late May 1987.[192] On February 27, 1988, Khadem was called in again and told that she could have her sentence reduced if she accepted that she was a spy, which she refused.[193]

On January 9, 1989, Khadem and other Bahá’í prisoners were given blank sheets to ask for clemency. They believed that they had not done anything wrong to ask for clemency. They did not, however, want to return the sheets without writing anything in them as it could be deemed an act of resistance against the state.[194] Khadem wrote that she had spent five years and six months in prison, and that she was requesting the authorities to reconsider her case.[195] On February 27, 1989, Khadem was told that her sentence would be changed to a suspended sentence, and that she could be freed on bail if she pledged that she would not act against the Islamic Republic.[196] Khadem was eventually released on March 1, 1989.[197]

4.3. Delaram Sadeghzadeh

Delaram Sadeghzadeh was born on November 11, 1991, in Tehran. In an interview with IHRDC, she described how she was denied the right to education on account of her belief in the Bahá’í Faith. The first time Sadeghzadeh was denied admission to a school was when a private middle school named Rah-e Roshd refused to enroll her.[198] She was able to attend another middle school. She had a similar experience when she wanted to enroll in Sama high school, which was also private. She took the school’s admission test and passed, but the school did not let her register. The principal stated that they could not admit Bahá’ís in accordance with a directive from the Ministry of Education.[199] Sadeghzadeh ultimately went to Koushesh high school, another private institution, after taking the school’s admission test. Even in that school her admission was not certain for a while. The school staff told Sadeghzadeh’s mother that they did not know whether they could register a Bahá’í, but they ultimately did.[200]

After finishing high school and pre-college, Sadeghzadeh took the entrance examination for the state-run university system. She took the humanities test. Her rank was 555, which qualified her for her second preferred field of study, Shahid Beheshti University’s special education psychology program.[201] On her first day at university, she realized that one of the registration documents indicated her religion to be Islam. She crossed it out and wrote “Bahá’í” instead.[202] In another place, her religion was left blank. She wrote “Bahá’í” in that space as well.[203] The clerk who received the forms did not have a reaction. Nevertheless, Sadeghzadeh was always concerned that her days at the university could be numbered. “From that moment on, and for four years, every day I told myself that they were going to tell me not to go university any longer.”[204] Accordingly, Sadeghzadeh kept all of the documents the university gave her so that she would have a record of being a student there.[205]

Sadeghzadeh was summoned to the university’s herasat[206] office and questioned about her interactions with other students.[207] They would ask, “Who in your class knows that you are a Baháʼí? Why do they know? Why do you tell? What do you speak about? Have you brought a book? Have you ever taken anyone anywhere?”[208] Sadeghzadeh did not promote her faith in discussions with her classmates in university, but if it came up in a conversation, she would discuss it. Nevertheless, even those discussions had raised the suspicion of the herasat office.[209] Sadeghzadeh gave a pledge to the herasat office that she would no longer have any religious discussions with other students.[210]

Sadeghzadeh finished her undergraduate studies. Since she was a top student, she was offered direct admission to the master’s program in her field. This admission did not require a high rank in the master’s degree entrance examination; instead, a rank that qualified her for university admission in Tehran would be sufficient. When she took the admission test, however, she ranked sixth in her field, qualifying her for independent admission to the program in addition to the direct admission she had already been offered based on her GPA.[211] The enrollment process for admission based on her high rank in the entrance exam took less time. Therefore, Sadeghzadeh opted to enroll through this route.[212] When she attempted to enroll, however, the registration website stated that her file was “incomplete.”[213] Sadeghzadeh was familiar with this phrase, as this phrase often appears on the screen when Bahá’í applicants log on to website of the National Organization of Educational Testing to register.[214] Sadeghzadeh could still enroll through the direct admission offered by her school. She knew, however, that sooner or later she would probably be expelled.[215]

Shahid Beheshti University told Sadeghzadeh that three separate entities would conduct background checks on her: the university herasat office, the National Organization of Educational Testing, and the school itself.[216] Sadeghzadeh knew that the result of the background check from the National Organization of Educational Testing would result in her expulsion.[217]

Sadeghzdeh was indeed expelled in May 2015, before the end of the second semester of her master’s program.[218] Her expulsion was initiated when she requested an official document from the graduate office, indicating that she was an enrolled student. Sadeghzadeh needed that document for a visa application as she was planning a trip abroad.[219] When she went to pick up the document, she was told that it was not available, and that she should meet the director of the graduate office.[220] The director of the graduate office told her that they had received a letter stating that Sadeghzadeh did not have general eligibility for being a university student.

The director of the graduate office said that it was very strange and saddening. “Why?” he asked. I said, “Probably because I am a Baháʼí. But I am the one who should be asking why my general eligibility has been denied.”[221]

The director of the graduate office signed Sadeghzadeh’s expulsion letter and sent it to Sadeghzadeh’s department.[222] Most of Sadeghzdeh’s professors expressed shock and regret upon hearing that she was expelled, but they said that they could not do anything about it.[223] Her classmates signed a letter asking the school to rescind her expulsion.[224]

Sadeghzadeh went to meet university officials to appeal her expulsion. The university president, Dr. Tehranchi, did not let her into his office despite her repeated attempts.[225] Sadeghzadeh spoke to the head of her school, Dr. Mazaheri. He stated that he was sorry that she was expelled, but he added that he could not do anything.[226]

Sadeghzadeh got an appointment to see Dr. Nourbakhsh, the head of the National Organization of Educational Testing. Sadeghzadeh asked him why her general eligibility had been denied. Nourbakhsh bluntly said, “Well, it’s because you’re a Baháʼí. You know that.”[227] During the meeting, Nourbakhsh stated that he had advocated for the Bahá’ís’ right to education. Sadeghzadeh recalled her response:

I said, “You have personally signed and sent that letter. How is it that you have been in this position for all these years, you say that you are helping Baháʼís seek their right to education, and not only nothing changes, but you also personally sign their expulsion letters?” Spinning my question, he said that there is a board [that does this]. I said, “You are its head. How does a board act against your preference but you still sign it?”[228]

Nourbakhsh stated that if he did not want Bahá’ís to attend university, she would not have been admitted to her undergraduate program in the first place. Sadeghzadeh responded that if that were true, she would not have been expelled, and other Bahá’í students would have been admitted as well.[229] She added that the Iranian government only admitted few Bahá’ís so it could deny that Bahá’ís were denied the right to education.[230] At the end of the meeting, Nourbakhsh told Sadeghzadeh that she could write a letter to appeal her expulsion. She wrote the letter and gave it to him. Nourbakhsh tore up the letter before Sadeghzdeh left his room.[231] Sadeghzadeh left Iran in September 2019 and settled in the United Kingdom, where she obtained a master’s degree in neurocognitive science from UCL.[232]

4.4. Sina[233]

Sina was born in 1990 in Tehran. In an interview with IHRDC, he described his experience as a Bahá’í in Iran’s education system. In high school, a religious studies instructor told a number of students that Bahá’ís were ritually impure, and that they should wash their hands if they touched a Bahá’í.[234] On the other hand, the vice principal in that high school was supportive of the Bahá’ís, and he took off a wall poster that included anti-Bahá’í content.[235]

Sina was among few Bahá’ís who were allowed to enroll in university. He was admitted to an undergraduate program in Tabriz.[236] There was another Bahá’í student in that program in addition to Sina. In fall 2009, when Sina and the other Bahá’í student went to get their student ID cards, they were told that their cards were not ready.[237] It was alarming for them that hundreds of students had received their student ID cards but the two of them had not.

The first semester ended, and the cards did not arrive. We took the exams and passed. The second semester started, and we faced some problems because we did not have ID cards. One problem was that the guard would not let us enter university grounds. We did not have ID cards, and we had to ask other students to intercede and let us in. The second problem was that our access to our course website was restricted because the student ID number on the student ID card was needed to access that website. All grades were posted to the website, and we did not have access. The third problem was that we did not have assigned seats on exam dates because we did not have student IDs. The two of us did not have seats, and they would tell us to sit on other chairs and take the exams. Then our exams would not be graded because we did not have student ID numbers. And even if they were graded, we did not have access to the website. The process to eliminate us started this way, without them saying anything to us or giving us a letter.[238]

Sina and the other Bahá’í student got an appointment from the university president to discuss their issues. In the meeting, the university president was not initially forthcoming. He stated that they had not received student ID cards due to administrative problems, and that the problem would be resolved.[239] Sina and his friend told him that they knew that there were Bahá’í students in their university who had been expelled in the recent past, and that they feared this could happen to them as well.[240] They added that they had not received any official notification regarding expulsion, and that this meant that they were expelled without an official process. At that point, the university president expressed regret over the expulsion of Bahá’í students they had referred to, and he stated that they were very good students. He added that there was not anything he could do, and that if he resisted what was being done, he would be fired and replaced by another university president who would expel Sina and his friend.[241] Some of Sina’s exams were not graded because he did not have a student ID number. As a result, his GPA dropped significantly. He was very discouraged, and it became impossible to continue, particularly because he did not have access to the academic website.[242]

In the fall of 2009, fearing that he might be expelled from his university, Sina had also started studying at the Bahá’í Institute for Education (BIHE).[243] At the end of the second semester, seeing what was happening to him, he stopped attending university and focused on his BIHE program.[244] Sina decided not to seek redress for his situation at the university because another Bahá’í student, who was a year above him and had been expelled, was imprisoned, perhaps because of speaking out about his expulsion.[245] Meanwhile, Sina’s Bahá’í friend tried to continue attending the university, but he was no longer allowed on school grounds because he did not have a student ID.[246]

Studying at the BIHE had its own challenges. Sina could not access any library, and the BIHE’s academic website was filtered by Iranian authorities.[247] Despite all the difficulties, Sina finished his coursework and obtained his undergraduate degree from the BIHE. He subsequently immigrated to the United States, where he obtained his master’s degree.[248]

4.5. Raha Sabet

Raha Sabet Sarvestany was born on January 29, 1974. In an interview with IHRDC, she described the circumstances of her arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment. Sabet’s ordeal stemmed from her involvement in Bahá’í-inspired social development projects. Sabet resided in Shiraz. After the devastating Bam earthquake in December 2003, Sabet joined relief efforts as a volunteer with an organization that worked with UNICEF in Iran. While in the camp, Sabet, along with another Bahá’í friend, decided to form classes for children at the camp. The classes involved playing with toys, reading children’s books, and drawing.[249] The classes became very popular with the children and their parents. When Sabet returned to Shiraz, she organized similar classes for children in Mehdi Abad, an underprivileged area in Shiraz along with other Bahá’í and non-Bahai youths.[250] The children in that neighborhood needed help in science and math. Sabet and other Bahá’í youths provided books, and they started teaching science, math, and English to the children. The children were provided instructions from the first through eighth grades. The classes were held on Fridays, Iran’s weekend. The classes were held on a large field. About 100 to 120 children were attending these classes.[251] The classes were so popular with the parents that they asked Sabet and her friends to continue providing instruction during the summer recess.[252] After a while the Bahá’ís incorporated Bahá’í-inspired spiritual and moral themes into their programs.[253] According to Sabet, the engagement of the Bahá’í volunteers with the community went beyond instruction to the children, and it involved helping community members in myriad ways, such as repairing their homes and providing professional training.[254] Bahá’í volunteers also taught the children skills such as sewing and repairing bicycles.[255]

While Sabet was involved in this project, Iranian security forces arrested several Bahá’ís who were running the Ruhi Institute, a community-based program designed to promote the Bahá’í faith. Sabet, who was also active in the Ruhi Institute, was not arrested, but she was summoned for interrogation.[256] During the interrogations, Sabet was asked about the Bahá’í community’s plans for spreading the Bahá’í faith in Iran.[257] The authorities also raided Sabet’s house. The interrogations took place at the IRGC intelligence facility at Falake-ye Setad, officially known as Imam Hossein Square.[258] She was told to go into a small room and sit facing a one-way mirror. During the interrogation, Sabet discussed her activities at Mehdi Abad, but that was not the focal point of the questioning.[259] The questioning would take from morning to the evening. According to Sabet she went through at least seven interrogation sessions. Sabet stated that the interrogations did not disrupt her life, and she continued her activity at Mehdi Abad.[260] The interrogations did not result in any charges against Sabet or other Bahá’ís arrested at that time.[261]

Later, Sabet was selected by the Bahá’í community to travel outside Iran to gain further community building experience. Sabet went to India, where she ran a program at an underprivileged community for eight months.[262] During those eight months the activities at Mehdi Abad continued in Sabet’s absence. After returning from India, Sabet, along with two other friends, started a similar program at Sahl Abad, another under-served community.[263] In Sahl Abad, both Bahá’ís and Muslims participated in the instruction.[264] Over there, a family called police about the program. The police told Sabet that they should obtain a permit from the Shiraz city council.[265] Sabet and a Muslim friend went to the Shiraz city council and submitted a request to the city council. A few days later Sabet received a phone call from the city council and was asked to appear before them.[266] Sabet explained the activities at Sahl Abad and Mehdi Abad neighborhoods and obtained permits for activities at both sites.[267] The permits stated that the youth who go to those neighborhoods for social development projects were permitted to conduct their activities. The permits did not contain the names of Sabet or others involved in the program.[268] Sabet stated that they always carried these letters with them when they went to the sites. A while later a similar program began in Dehpialeh.[269] Sabet and her colleagues were also invited to begin a similar program in a cultural center in Maali Abad.[270] They also started a program at a children’s cancer hospital. All five programs had permits from the Shiraz city council.[271]

On May 19, 2006, Sabet was at Dehpialeh when she saw two black vans blocking the road to Dehpialeh. Sabet was teaching math at that moment.[272] Security forces swarmed the area. One officer asked Sabet to sit in the security forces’ vehicle.[273] Overall, 53 Bahá’ís and 10 Muslims were arrested.[274] The authorities had conducted raids across all the locations except the children’s cancer hospital.[275] Sabet and the rest of the detainees were taken to the Shiraz Ministry of Intelligence detention facility known as Pelak-e 100.[276] The organ who had detained them was the IRGC intelligence.[277] Sabet, who was blindfolded, could recognize the voice of one the interrogators from her previous interrogations.[278]

Muslim detainees were released on the same night that they were arrested. Other Bahá’ís were released after a week.[279] Sabet, Haleh Rouhi, and Sasan Taqva, were kept in detention.[280] Sabet was interrogated several times. According to Sabet, the interrogators put pressure on Muslim colleagues to file complaints against Sabet for attempting to convert them to the Bahá’í Faith, and for taking them to mixed gatherings were men and women engaged in illicit relations.[281] In addition, the interrogators had also obtained affidavits from the city council, stating that Sabet had misled them, and that she had not disclosed to them that she was a Bahá’í.[282] Sabet realized that the authorities had been videotaping their activities for a month prior to raiding the sites.[283] The interrogators accused Sabet of attempting to convert about 600 Muslim children to the Bahá’í Faith by helping them with their studies and other activities.[284] Sabet responded that she did not want to convert anyone, and that most Muslims involved in the project did not know that Sabet and others were Bahá’ís.[285]

She did not have a lawyer present during the questioning. Sabet’s arraignment was held inside the detention center.[286] Sabet was charged with acting against national security, forming illegal groups, disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and misleading state institutions.[287]

Sabet was released on a bail of 50 million toumans after 28 days of detention.[288] A short while after her release Sabet was summoned for her trial. Sabet’s dad spoke with an attorney, and he agreed to defend Sabet and other Bahá’í defendants. He stopped returning phone calls, however. He eventually set up an appointment with Sabet’s father at a location different from his office and informed Sabet’s father that the authorities had threatened him and told him that he would face consequences if he represented Bahá’ís.[289] As a result, he declined to represent the Bahá’ís.[290] Another attorney contacted by a different Bahá’í family also reported that he had been threatened, and he did not take up the defense of the Bahá’ís.[291] Sabet consulted with another attorney, and wrote her own defense brief.[292] None of the Bahá’í defendants were represented by counsel during the trial.[293]

Sabet was tried alongside Haleh Rouhi and Sasan Taqva.[294] Their families were not allowed in the courtroom. In fact, the only people present during the trial were Sabet, Rouhi, Taqva, a judge named Kheshti, and a secretary.[295] Later, they were summoned for another trial session. The case was assigned to another judge named Jaber Baneshi. This judge was a cleric.[296]

They were all sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.[297] They were not informed of their sentence, however.[298] Instead, they were told to report to the MOI Pelak-e 100 facility on November 19, 2007.[299] Sabet thought that she was just asked to go there for some questioning. Once she got there, she saw that Haleh Rouhi and Sasan Taqva were there as well.[300] Unbeknownst to them, they were summoned to serve their sentences. As Sabet stated, she went in and came out four years later.[301]

Sabet was offered to submit a pardon request from the Supreme Leader so that she could be released early. She refused to submit this form because she believed she had not done anything wrong.[302] Sabet and Haleh Rouhi were held in the same cell for about eight months.[303] Sabet spent three years and four months of her sentence in a solitary cell as opposed to the general ward.[304] She indicated that after Rouhi was taken to another cell, she was alone in her cell until the 2009 Green Movement protests, during which many female prisoners were brought into solitary cells.[305]

After three years and four months Sabet was transferred to Adel Abad prison.[306] In Adel Abad prison she was placed in a ward that housed female death row inmates.[307] The conditions in that ward were appalling. Sabet realized that there was a large hole in the ward’s roof, which meant that the ward was very cold.[308] The ward’s water was muddy.[309] Food was not consistently delivered to this ward.[310] Sabet believes that she was placed in that ward as punishment for refusing to ask for the Supreme Leader’s pardon.[311]

Sabet wrote a letter to the head of the prison and described the horrid conditions of the ward. She was called in to the office of the head of the prison.[312] Following a conversation with Sabet, the head of the prison walked to the ward to see the conditions for himself.[313] On the next few days the ward’s condition improved.[314] The gap in the ceiling was covered, and the prisoners were given food and water.[315] During one of her leaves, Sabet travelled to Tehran and met with government officials to discuss prison conditions.

Sabet told prison authorities that she could teach sewing to the female prisoners. Prison authorities provided a few sewing machines to the ward and put Sabet in charge. The women produced pants, shirts, and jackets. The inmates were also given store credit in lieu of wages, with which they could buy items at the prison shop.[316]

Sabet was released from Adel Abad prison on November 19, 2010. She obtained her Ph.D. in women’s studies from Savitribai Phule Pune University in India. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology.

4.6. Jamshid[317]

In his interview with IHRDC, Jamshid, a Bahá’í residing in Iran, indicated that the Iranian government opened a case against his family members in 1984 in order to confiscate their properties. The court opinions in cases involving Jamshid’s family over the past four decades reveal the attitude of the Iranian government with respect to the Bahá’ís. In an opinion issued in 1984, for instance, a court stated that Jamshid’s family members did not enjoy the protection of the Iranian government because they were members of the “Bahá’í espionage sect.”[318]

A number of Jamshid’s paternal uncles resided outside Iran, and their properties were subject to confiscation for that reason. Jamshid’s father, however, lived in Iran, and he was able to secure legal judgments in his favor. These judgments included a 1990 decision by Iran’s Supreme Court.[319]

Nevertheless, the Iranian government continued to take legal action against Jamshid’s family in the following decades, culminating in a 2016 court ruling that ordered the confiscation of all their properties and businesses, save their residential homes. The state agency that initiated this legal action against Jamshid’s family was the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, which is controlled by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.

The court ruling stated that Jamshid and his family members were among the “leaders of the misguided Bahá’í sect.”[320] The businesses and properties were confiscated pursuant to Article 49 of the Islamic Republic Constitution, which declares,

The government has the responsibility of confiscating all wealth accumulated through usury, usurpation, bribery, embezzlement, theft, gambling, misuse of endowments, misuse of government contracts and transactions, the sale of uncultivated lands and other resources subject to public ownership, the operation of centers of corruption, and other illicit means and sources, and restoring it to its legitimate owner; and if no such owner can be identified, it must be entrusted to the public treasury. This rule must be executed by the government with due care, after investigation and furnishing necessary evidence in accordance with the law of Islam.[321]

To justify the confiscation of the properties, the court accused Jamshid’s father of “implementing the broad policies of the occupying Zionist regime” in Iran.[322] The court opinion equated being a Bahá’í to “infidelity to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”[323]

The court ruling also stated that Jamshid’s father and uncle had purchased agricultural lands and then turned them into barren fields, and that they had laid off their workers, disturbing the country’s economic system.[324] The court opinion also stated that Jamshid’s father had been a usurer. The court opinion did not attempt to distinguish between any wealth obtained legitimately and illegitimately. Instead, it simply stated that Jamshid’s family had failed to prove that their wealth had been accrued legitimately.[325]

5. Violations of Iran’s International Human Rights Obligations

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Iran is obligated to respect international human rights norms. As the information provided in this report indicate, however, the Iranian government has violated its obligations with respect to its Bahá’í population over four decades. This section discusses these violations.

5.1. Right to Life

Under Article 6.2 of the ICCPR the death penalty only may be imposed for “the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime.” The Bahá’ís executed by the Iranian government had not committed a crime, and the Iranian government did not charge them with violations of any existing criminal statute. Moreover, the allegations levelled against the Bahá’ís, even if true, would not meet the “most serious crimes” threshold delineated in the ICCPR. As evident in the trial of the seven members of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1981 discussed in Section 2.1. supra, Bahá’ís were not charged with violent acts. Nor did the prosecution provide any evidence that they had provided classified information to foreign states. Their execution, as other executions of Bahá’ís, were a blatant violation of Iran’s obligations under the ICCPR.

5.2. Right to Be Convicted Based on Laws Existing at the Time the Offence is Committed

Article 15.1 of the ICCPR states, “No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed.” While the Islamic Republic started to execute and imprison dissidents right after taking power in February 1979, it did not adopt its main criminal statute, known as the Islamic Penal Code, until 1991. The Islamic Penal Code, last revised in 2013, does not criminalize being a Bahá’í. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Bahá’ís are deprived of their rights, such as the right to education and employment, simply on account of their religious beliefs.

5.3. Right to Education

Article 13.1. of the ICESCR guarantees the right to education. Article 13.1(c) declares, “Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.” Since the Cultural Revolution of 1980, the Iranian government has deprived Bahá’ís of the right to access higher education in Iran. This policy has been implemented through refusal to admit Bahá’í students or expelling them before graduation. Very few Bahá’ís have graduated from Iran’s universities since 1980. The accounts of two university students expelled for being Bahá’ís are provided in Sections 4.3. and 4.4. supra.

5.4. Right to Employment

Article 6.1. of the ICESCR states, “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.” A directive by Iran’s Ministry of Labor in 1981 stated that terminated Bahá’ís should not be reinstated, affirming that a 1981 law passed by the Iranian parliament prohibited employment of Bahá’ís in the public sector. According to the Bahá’í International Community, at least 15,000 Bahá’ís have lost their jobs or sources of livelihoods since the 1979 Revolution.

5.5. Right to Religious Freedom

Article 18.1. of the ICCPR declares, “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.” Article 4 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic states that all laws should conform to Islamic criteria, effectively institutionalizing religious discrimination in Iran. Bahá’ís have been consistently detained and prosecuted for religious activity, and their mere membership in the Bahá’í community has been cited as evidence of national security crimes in court rulings.

Conclusion

Bahá’ís have been subjected to various forms of human rights violations since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. A secret 1991 memorandum issued by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and approved by Supreme Leader Khamenei provides the blueprint for Iran’s systematic discrimination against the Bahá’ís. As a matter of state policy Bahá’ís are deprived of higher education, employment, and positions of influence. Furthermore, they are arrested on account of their faith and imprisoned on baseless national security charges. According to data provided by the Bahá’í International Community, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic 202 Bahá’ís have been executed, killed, or kidnapped, while 14 have died in prison. In addition, hundreds of Bahá’ís have been imprisoned, and at least 15,000 have lost their jobs or sources of livelihoods.

[1] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/archive/supreme-revolutionary-cultural-councils-secret-memo-dealing-Bahá’ís

[2] Id.

[3] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/theBahá’íquestionrevisited_final_160839e.pdf p.64

[4] https://file.Bahá’í.media/7/71/BW_Volume17.pdf p. 79

[5] Id.

[6] http://dl.Bahá’í.org/Bahá’í-world/the-Bahá’í-world-vol18-1979-1983.pdf p. 271

[7] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/Bahá’ís_killed_since_1978_180329a.pdf

[8] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/009055E_0.pdf

[9] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/009077E_0.pdf

[10] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/001736E_0.pdf

[11] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/009101E_0.pdf

[12] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/Bahá’ís_killed_since_1978_180329a.pdf

[13] Geoffree Nash, http://dl.Bahá’í.org/Bahá’í-world/the-Bahá’í-world-vol18-1979-1983.pdf p. 257

[14] Id. 259

[15] Id.

[16] Id. at 261

[17] Id.

[18] Id.

[19] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/Bahá’ís_killed_since_1978_180329a.pdf

[20] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/Bahá’ís_killed_since_1978_180329a.pdf

[21] https://www.Bahá’í.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19811228_001/1#922510771

[22] https://www.aasoo.org/fa/articles/41

[23] https://www.aasoo.org/fa/articles/41

[24] Id.

[25] Id.

[26] Id.

[27] Id.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

[33] Id.

[34] http://dl.Bahá’í.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/TheBahá’íQuestion.pdf p.29

[35] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/003436E.pdf

[36] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/003216E.pdf

[37] http://dl.Bahá’í.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/TheBahá’íQuestion.pdf p. 35

[38] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/000065E_2.pdf

[39] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/000496E_2.pdf

[40] https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90230

[41] Id.

[42] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/000623E_3.pdf

[43] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/000174E_2.pdf

[44] http://dl.Bahá’í.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/TheBahá’íQuestion.pdf p. 37.

[45] http://dl.Bahá’í.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/TheBahá’íQuestion.pdf p.28.

[46] Id.

[47] https://news.Bahá’í.org/story/966/

[48] Id.

[49] Id.

[50] https://iranwire.com/en/society/61299

[51] https://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/iran/Iran-05.htm

[52] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/002018E.pdf

[53] http://dl.Bahá’í.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/TheBahá’íQuestion.pdf p.14-15

[54] Id.

[55] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/theBahá’íquestionrevisited_final_160839e.pdf p.20

[56] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/theBahá’íquestionrevisited_final_160839e.pdf p.20

[57] https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/2015/05/150513_u04_Bahá’ís_prison

[58] https://www.bic.org/imprisoned-providing-education

[59] https://www.bic.org/imprisoned-providing-education

[60] https://www.hra-news.org/2019/hranews/a-20919/

[61] https://www.hra-news.org/2020/hranews/a-26804/

[62] https://www.hra-news.org/2020/hranews/a-26804/

[63] https://www.hra-news.org/2021/hranews/a-30259/

[64] https://bit.ly/3yY6K9H

[65] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/001883E_0.pdf

[66][66] https://iranBahá’ípersecution.bic.org/sites/default/files/PDF/English/020166E.pdf

[67] https://iranwire.com/fa/features/21004

[68] Article 28(b) https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/94011

[69] https://iranwire.com/fa/features/21004

[70] https://www.hra-news.org/2018/hranews/a-16625/

[71] https://www.hra-news.org/2019/hranews/a-18739/

[72] https://www.hra-news.org/2018/hranews/a-18204/

[73] https://www.hra-news.org/2019/hranews/a-18651/

[74] https://iranwire.com/fa/features/31670

[75] https://www.hra-news.org/2017/hranews/a-10732/

[76] Witness Statement of Farzin Parsa

[77] Id.

[78] Id.

[79] Id.

[80] Id.

[81] Id.

[82] Id.

[83] Id.

[84] Id.

[85] Id.

[86] Id.

[87] Id.

[88] Id.

[89] Id.

[90] Id.

[91] Id.

[92] Id.

[93] Id.

[94] Id.

[95] Id.

[96] Id.

[97] Id.

[98] Id.

[99] Id.

[100] Id.

[101] A Bahá’í person is considered to be an infidel and ritually unclean. Under Islamic jurisprudence, water may transfer uncleanliness from an infidel to a Muslim.

[102] Witness Statement of Farzin Parsa

[103] Id.

[104] Id.

[105] Id.

[106] Id.

[107] Id.

[108] Id.

[109] Id.

[110] Id.

[111] Id.

[112] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/Bahá’ís_killed_since_1978_180329a.pdf

[113] Witness Statement of Farzin Parsa

[114] Id.

[115] Id.

[116] https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/Bahá’ís_killed_since_1978_180329a.pdf

[117] Witness Statement of Farzin Parsa

[118] Id.

[119] Id.

[120] Id.

[121] Id.

[122] Id.

[123] Mulūk Khādim, Khātirāti Zindāni Khānumi Mulūk Khādim 10 (2015).

[124] Id. At 12.

[125] Id.

[126] Id.

[127] Id.

[128] Id.

[129] Id.

[130] Mulūk Khādim, Khātirāti Zindāni Mulūk Khādim 13 (2015).

[131] Id. at 14.

[132] Id.

[133] Id. at 18.

[134] Id. at 26.

[135] Id. at 27.

[136] Id. at 28.

[137] Id.

[138] Id at 29

[139] Id.

[140] Id. at 66

[141] Id. at 34

[142] Id.

[143] Id. at 35

[144] Id. at 39

[145] Id. at 40.

[146] Id. at 43

[147] Id.

[148] Id. at 57

[149] Id. at 63

[150] Id. at 64

[151] Id. at 65

[152] Id. at 70

[153] Id.

[154] Id. at 71

[155] Id.

[156] Id.

[157] Id.

[158] Id. at 72

[159] Id.

[160] Id.

[161] Id.

[162] Id. at 73.

[163] Id. at 76

[164] Id. at 88

[165] Id. at 90

[166] Id.

[167] Id. at 94

[168] Id.

[169] Id. at 101

[170]Id.

[171] Id. at 102

[172] Id. at 102

[173] Id. at 99

[174]Id. at 103

[175]Id. at 104

[176] Id.

[177] Id.

[178] Id. at 104

[179] Molouk Khadem’s mother wrote several letters to Iranian authorities pleading for her release. One letter is provided in Figure 1 of this report. The translation of this letter’s text is provided below

8/5/1362 [30 July 1983]

In His Exalted Name

The Honourable Prosecutor General of the Islamic Republic of Iran

This is to submit to your attention that I, the undersigned, Shamsi Khadem, 86 years-old, resident of [redacted], lived with my two daughters. At 2:00 in the morning on Sunday 2/5/1362 [24 July 1983], an armed group raided the house and took away my older daughter, Molouk Khadem, as well as some of her belongings, including her car keys. On Monday 3/5/1362 [25 July 1983], they removed her car from the residents’ parking spot number 12 without our knowledge. Despite repeated inquiry at the police stations, [Islamic Revolutionary] Committee and Evin Prison, as well as other prisons, no one was willing or able to provide any information.

I leave the judgement to your honourable self, whether it is acceptable in an Islamic Republic country to enter the home of 3 defenceless women at 2 a.m. and perpetrate such improper acts. I plead with you to order that my daughter is return to me. Otherwise, take me to her, as I am old and frail and cannot bear being away from her. I plead to your compassion and ask for your assistance.

Elderly and bereaved mother,

Shamsi Khadem

16/5/1362 [7 August 1983]

[signature]

Esteemed Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Esteemed President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Esteemed Speaker of the Consultative Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Iran

[180] Mulūk Khādim, Khātirāti Zindāni Mulūk Khādim 104 (2015).

[181] Id.

[182] Id.

[183] Id. at 106.

[184] Id.

[185] Id.

[186] Id.

[187] Id.

[188] Id. at 107

[189] Id. at 112

[190] Id. at 117

[191] Id. at 118

[192] Id. at 119

[193] Id. at 127

[194] Id. at 138

[195] Id. at 138.

[196] Id. at 140

[197] Id.

[198] Witness Statement of Delaram Sadeghzadeh

[199] Id.

[200] Id.

[201] Id.

[202] Id.

[203] Id.

[204] Id.

[205] Id.

[206] Governmental organizations and universities in Iran have an intelligence and security office known as herasat. This office is in charge of the university or organization’s security and monitors it for any subversive act or any conduct in violation of the IRI’s strict Islamic code.

[207] Witness Statement of Delaram Sadeghzadeh

[208] Id.

[209] Id.

[210] Id.

[211]Id.

[212] Id.

[213] Id.

[214] Id.

[215] Id.

[216] Id.

[217] Id.

[218] Id.