Iran: Three Baha’i Women Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
Published by Ali on May 20, 2020
International Liberty Association: Three Baha’i women were sentenced to a total of 20 years imprisonment by a court in Shiraz on 10 May 2020. These Baha’i women are at risk of contracting the Coronavirus in Iran jails. Bahareh Ghaderi, Nora Pourmoradian, and Niloufar Hakimi have been sentenced to prison for their beliefs, by the Shiraz Revolutionary Court.
Bahareh Ghaderi and Nora Pourmoradian were each sentenced to six years, and Niloufar Hakimi to eight years.
It should be mentioned that Niloufar Hakimi had previously been sentenced to five years in prison by a Shiraz court.
On 20 April 2020, Birjand Court sentenced six Baha’i women – Atieh Salehi, Farzaneh Dimi, Nasrin Ghadiri, Banafsheh Mokhtari, Arezoo Mohammadi, and Roya Maleki – to a total of 36 years in prison because of their religious beliefs.
As the Covid-19 crisis threatens the lives of more prisoners throughout the country, courts in Iran continue to impose jail sentences on women for various reasons, including their religious beliefs.
Iran authorities consider the Baha’is to be heretics who have no religion. Rights groups say authorities routinely arrest members of Iran’s estimated 300,000-strong Baha’i minority community for expressing or practising their beliefs.
Although Article 23 of Iran’s Constitution states that “no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief,” followers of the faith are denied many fundamental rights, including access to education, employment, and political office.
ILA: Iran has repeatedly charged detained Baha’is with national security-related offences without disclosing evidence.
