Christians
Christian convert arrested, Bibles and musical instruments confiscated during IRGC raid
Article 18 (18.02.2025) – Plainclothes officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) raided a gathering of around 80 Christians in a garden in northern Iran earlier this month, confiscating Bibles and musical instruments, and arresting one of the attendees.
Christian convert Somayeh Rajabi was arrested at the gathering in Gatab, Mazandaran Province, on 6 February.
According to Mohabat News, at least 20 IRGC agents took part in the evening raid on the Gatab gathering, at which Christians from the nearby cities of Gorgan and Babol had joined together.
Christians once ‘pardoned’ after years in prison re-arrested
Article 18 (10.02.2025) – Two Christians in their 60s who were “pardoned” and released after a combined six years in prison on charges related to their leadership of house-churches have been re-arrested, Article18 understands.
According to Article18’s sources, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Joseph Shahbazian were both re-arrested by intelligence agents at their homes in the Tehran region on the morning of 6 February, and taken back to the city’s notorious Evin Prison.
Both remain detained at the time of writing and Nasser is apparently refusing to eat in protest at his unlawful re-arrest, while Article18’s sources report that a number of other Tehran Christians were also arrested at the same time and remain in custody.
Peaceful Iranians arrested in Turkey for publicly manifesting their religious beliefs
Europeantimes.news (01.02.2025) – On 5 January 2025, police officers in Karaman (Turkey) raided the home of an Iranian couple looking for an opportunity to apply for asylum in an EU country and belonging to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Iran, a Shia-derivative new religious movement founded in 1999.
As Pooria Lotfiillanou, the head of the family, was then absent, they only found his wife Ebtighaa and their six-month-old child. They arrested both and took them to the local police station, leaving them in detention under harsh conditions.
Baha’is
Execution of prison sentences: Baha’i citizens Nazila Khanipour and Vesal Heravi, transferred to Lakan prison in Rasht
Iran press watch (20.02.2025) – Today, Thursday, February 20, Nazila Khanipour and her son Vesal Heravi, two Baha’i citizens, were transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht to serve their sentences. Khanipour had been sentenced to more than two years in prison, while her son had received a sentence of more than four years.
Based on information received by HRANA, today, Khanipour and Heravi appeared before Branch 5 of the Rasht Prosecutor’s Office for the Execution of Sentences, where they were arrested and transferred to Lakan Prison in the city.
Previously, Branch 3 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mehdi Rasekhi, had sentenced Nazila Khanipour to two years and one day of imprisonment, an 80 million toman (approx. $1,600) fine, and a five-year deprivation of social rights for the charge of educational and promotional activities deemed “deviant” and contrary to Islamic law.
Baha’i Citizen Erfan Eshraghi arrested in Karaj
Iran Press Watch (19.02.2025) – A source close to Mr. Eshraghi’s family confirmed the news to HRANA, stating: “On the morning of Tuesday, February 18, Mr. Eshraghi was arrested by security forces while leaving his home in Golshahr, Karaj. The agents then searched his residence and confiscated laptops, mobile phones, religious books, and photographs belonging to him and his family. This occurred despite the fact that Mr. Eshraghi was scheduled to undergo kidney surgery at the hospital that same day.”
As of the time of this report, no information is available regarding his whereabouts or the charges against him.
According to the Department of Statistics and Publications of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), between January 1, 2024, and December 20, 2024, a total of 157 reports were recorded in the category of religious and faith-based minority rights. Among these, Baha’is accounted for 67.54% of the reports, ranking as the most observed group in human rights monitoring.
Homes of 14 Baha’i citizens searched, two arrested
Iran Bahai Persecution (19.02.2025) – According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, on Monday and Tuesday, at least 14 Baha’i citizens’ homes were raided in Karaj and Qazvin, leading to the arrest of two individuals.
Based on HRANA’s findings, the homes of Baha’i citizens Peiman Reza, Pejman Reza, Mehraneh Motlagh Arani (Reza), Nazila Raisi, Nava Ansari, Nasim Ansari, Homa Sha’abanpour, Shamisa Shahbazian, Farhoud Yazdani, Alice Teimouri, Erfan Eshraghi, and Shoghi Tebiani in Karaj, as well as Sogand Rangraz and Fariba Misaghi in Qazvin, were searched by security forces. During these searches, electronic devices, personal belongings, and religious materials related to the Baha’i faith were confiscated.
Baha’i man begins prison term in Iran
Iran Press Watch (18.02.2025) – Behnam Momtazi, a member of the Baha’i religious minority, was taken into custody on Monday in Qazvin, Iran, to begin serving a two-year and one-day prison sentence.
Momtazi was arrested after reporting to the Sentence Enforcement Office and was transferred to Choubindar Prison.
He had previously been detained by security forces from July 31 to August 11, 2022, before being released on bail.
Two Baha’i women were summoned to pay a fine
Iran press Watch (07.02.2025) – According to Hrana News Agency, the news outlet of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Samira Shakib and Mojdeh Bahamin, Baha’i citizens residing in Baharestan, Isfahan, have been summoned.
Based on a recent notification issued by the Second Branch of Sentence Execution at the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Isfahan and conveyed to these two Baha’i women, Ms. Shakib and Ms. Bahamin have been instructed to appear at the mentioned branch within 10 days to pay a fine of 50 million tomans.