HRANA– The prison sentences of six Baha’i women residing in Hamedan, have been fully upheld by Branch 11 of the Hamedan Appeals Court. In the initial stage, they had been sentenced by the Hamedan Revolutionary Court to a combined total of 38 years and 11 months in prison.
The sentences of Neda Mohebi, Atefeh Zahedi, Farideh Ayoubi, Noora Ayoubi, Zarrindokht Ahadzadeh, and Zhaleh Rezaei were upheld on August 12 by Branch 11 of the Hamedan Appeals Court. The ruling was issued without scheduling a hearing, without informing the lawyers about a session, and under the advisement of Bahram Karari and Morteza Ramezani. Membership in the Baha’i community and “teaching and propagating against Sharia” were among the charges brought against them.
In June this year, following their initial trial, Branch 2 of the Hamedan Revolutionary Court sentenced Neda Mohebi to five years in prison for “teaching and propagating against Sharia” and two years and eight months for “membership in the Baha’i community.” Three years of her prison sentence were suspended for five years.
Atefeh Zahedi, Farideh Ayoubi, Noura Ayoubi, Zarindokht Ahadzadeh, and Zhaleh Rezaei were each sentenced to two years and eight months for “membership in the Baha’i community” and three years and seven months for “teaching and propagating against Sharia.” Two years of the sentences of Noora Ayoubi, Ahadzadeh, and Rezaei were suspended for five years.
These citizens had previously been released in December 2023 on bail. They were arrested on November 7, 2023, by security forces and transferred to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Hamedan.
Over the past decade, the Iranian Bahá’í community has been disproportionately targeted by Iran’s security forces and judiciary—more than any other minority group. In the past three years, an average of 72 percent of the reports on religious rights violations collected by HRANA have documented the Iranian regime’s repression of the Bahá’í community.
