HRANA – Venus Hosseini-Nejad, Shakila Ghasemi, and Adib Shahbazpour, three Baha’i citizens residing in Kerman, have each been sentenced to eight years in prison by Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court of Kerman.

According to HRANA, citing IranWire, Venus Hosseini-Nejad, Shakila Ghasemi, and Adib Shahbazpour have been sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison.

According to the report, on October 31, 2026, Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court of Kerman issued verdicts against these Baha’i citizens on charges including “membership in a group,” “assembly and collusion,” and “propaganda against the regime.” Under the rulings, Venus Hosseini-Nejad, Shakila Ghasemi, and Adib Shahbazpour were each sentenced to eight years in prison.

In connection with the same case, two other Baha’i citizens, Peyvand Naeimi and Borna Naeimi, have also been sentenced to a combined total of more than 24 years in prison.

Shakila Ghasemi was released from Kerman Prison on bail on August 15, 2026. She had previously been arrested by security forces at her residence in Kerman on February 2, 2026.

Adib Shahbazpour was arrested by security forces on January 18, 2026, in connection with nationwide protests, while Venus Hosseini-Nejad was arrested on January 15 of the same year. Both were subsequently released on bail.

Over the past decade, the Baha’i community in Iran has been subjected to more security and judicial actions than any other religious minority. An examination of HRA’s annual reports indicates that, over the past year, an average of 62.41% of reported religious minority rights violations involved violations of the rights of Baha’i citizens.