Detention for being of the Bahaii faith

According to the spokesman of the Iranian regime judiciary on 29 January, 59 people have been arrested in Shiraz for being of Bahaii faith.

According to the Spokeman, Alireza Jamshidi, three of the arrested are sentenced to four years and 51 others have been sentenced to one year imprisonment each.

Although Mr.Jamshidi has claimed that these individuals have been charged with propagating against the Islamic Republic, sources say they are members of a children's NGO working to provide free education for poor children in Shiraz.

Islamic Republic authorities have accused this NGO of promoting the Bahaii faith.

Prior to this, Amnesty International had reported the detention of three Bahaii activists in Shiraz prison: Raha Sabet Sarvestani, Hale Rouhi and Sassan Taghavi. It is clear that these individuals had official permit for their activities and their only charge is to be of the Bahaii faith.