An Iranian appeals court has upheld prison sentences and social restrictions for six Baha’i citizens in Alborz province on alleged charges of spreading propaganda against the state, Iran International has learned.
The court sentenced the six — Nasser Rajab, Mahindokht Sa’adatmand Menashadi, Naghmeh Mirza Agha, Samar Masoudi, Mahshid Safidi Miyandoab, and Mona Zakaei — to five months in prison, a two-year travel ban, and a ban on social activities.
They were previously handed 10-month prison terms and the same restrictions by a lower court.
In seperate case, an Iranian court sentenced Keyvan Dehghani, a Baha’i citizen from the central city of Isfahan, to six years in prison, two years of exile, and a fine of 1.2 billion rials (about $1,040), according to information received by Iran International.
Authorities also confiscated mobile phones, laptops, and cash, and destroyed the family’s photo albums and personal photographs during a raid on his home.
Baha'is constitute the largest religious minority in Iran and have faced systematic harassment and persecution since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Baha’i faith as an official religion, unlike Christianity, Judaism or Zoroastrianism.
The Iranian Baha’i community has faced nearly 1,500 years in prison sentences over the past five years, according to a report by HRANA in August this year.
