Baháʼí 7
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The Baháʼí 7, also known as the "Yaran" (friends), were seven Iranian Baháʼí community leaders arrested in 2008 who served 10-year prison sentences in Iran. The seven
prisoners of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...
were Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm.


Background

Because the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
has no clergy, the adherents will choose a
Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
, at a local or national level, to carry out the affairs of the community. While there had been a history of
persecution of Baháʼís Baháʼís are persecuted in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Baháʼ ...
in Iran, this was elevated to an official state-sanctioned persecution following the 1979
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
. In 1980, the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly were arrested by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...
and never heard from again, though the authorities never acknowledged that the group (plus two others with them when they were arrested) had been executed. In 1981, eight of the nine members of the replacement National Spiritual Assembly were arrested and executed; unlike the first Assembly, the Central Revolutionary Courts did acknowledge that the executions of the second Assembly had occurred. In 1983, the Attorney-General of the Revolution announced a ban on all administrative and community activities of the Baháʼí community in Iran. Though the members of the third incarnation of the National Spiritual Assembly disbanded, seven of them were arrested and executed between 1984 and 1987, as acknowledged by the Revolutionary authorities. Following the 1983 disbandment of the National Spiritual Assembly, a number of Iranian Baháʼís formed a group to informally serve the needs of the country's adherents on an ad hoc basis. The group's membership evolved over the next 25 years, and was made up of the Baháʼí 7 as of March 2008.


Arrests and detention

Sabet was detained on 5 March 2008 after being summoned to
Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...
by the Ministry of Intelligence. Officers from the Ministry of Intelligence arrested the other six leaders in raids on their homes on 14 May 2008. The seven were held in Evin Prison in Section 209, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence, and were denied access to a lawyer. The five male detainees reportedly were placed in one cell together measuring 10 m2 and without any beds.


Charges and trial

On 11 February 2009, the Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran said that the case against the "seven defendants in the case of the illegal Bahai group" would be sent in next week to the Revolutionary Court and they would be charged with "espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the system." In response, Amnesty International stated that it "considers the charges to be politically motivated and those held to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their conscientiously held beliefs or their peaceful activities on behalf of the Baha'i community. If convicted, they would face lengthy prison terms, or even the death penalty." In May 2009, the families of the detainees were told that the seven were now facing the additional charge of ''
mofsed-e-filarz ''Mofsed-e-filarz'' (, also ''Mofsed fel-Arz'', ''Afsad-i fil Arz'', or ''fasad-fel-arz'', ''Al-Mufsid fi al-Arḍ'', also ''fasad fi 'l-ard''; ) is the title of capital crimes, or the person guilty of them, in Iran, which has been translated in ...
'' (spreading corruption on earth), which can carry the death penalty. The families were also informed that their detained relatives were scheduled to appear on 11 July 2009 before Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran to face the charges. The scheduled 11 July appearance was delayed and no new trial was given. The first session of the trial was held on January 12, 2010, before the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Government authorities reportedly attempted to bar the Baháʼís' lawyers from the courtroom, but were permitted access after insisting upon entering. Sessions were also held on February 7 and 12 April 2010. At the latter session, the seven Baháʼí and their lawyers reportedly "refused to participate in the proceedings when they saw Ministry of Intelligence interrogators and a film crew at what was supposed to be a closed hearing." On 7 August 2010, the Revolutionary Court in Tehran convicted the seven Baháʼí of crimes including "espionage for Israel", "insulting religious sanctities" and "propaganda against the system," and sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment. In response, Amnesty International called for their immediate release, describing the verdict as "a sad and damning manifestation of the deeply-rooted discrimination against Baha'is by the Iranian authorities." In September 2010, an appeal court acquitted the seven Baháʼí of some of the charges, including espionage, and consequently, their sentences were reduced to 10 years. In March 2011, however, Iranian authorities reinstated the 20-year sentences.


Completion of prison terms

On September 18, 2017, Mahvash Sabet was released from prison. Two days later Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
commented on being unified with the Baháʼís on her release and condemning her imprisonment. During her imprisonment, Sabet wrote many poetry books that were smuggled out and published. She is an acclaimed writer and a poet. On October 31, 2017, Fariba Kamalabadi was released "after completing a 10-year prison sentence. Her release follows that of Mahvash Sabet, a teacher, poet and also a former member of the group, the Yaran (or friends) ... Five other members of the group remain in jail...". On March 17, 2018, then 85-year-old Jamaloddin Khanjani was released, "...the oldest of the seven, is the fifth to be released since September 2017...". On December 21, 2018, Afif Naeimi became "...the last of seven imprisoned former leaders of the country's Baha’i minority" to be released from prison.


Reactions

In May 2013, a group of United Nations human rights officials called on Iranian authorities to immediately release the seven Baháʼí members. The imprisonment of this group, particularly the story of Fariba Kamalabadi was the subject of Afghan-American filmmaker Misaq Kazimi's documentary.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3755446/


See also

*
Persecution of Baháʼís Baháʼís are persecuted in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Baháʼ ...


References


External links

*
Timeline on Baháʼí Library Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:7, Bahai Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Iran Bahá'í Faith in Iran Iranian Bahá'ís Human rights abuses in Iran Prisoners and detainees of Iran Iranian prisoners and detainees Persecution of Bahá'ís