USCIRF Condemns Sentencing of Baha’i Women in Iran

Written by
Sedighe Shahrokhi

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned Iran’s sentencing of two Baha’i woman who were former members of the imprisoned Yaran Iran, known as the Baha’i Seven.

Following an hour-long trial, Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Mahvash Sabet (age 69) and Fariba Kamalabadi (age 60) to 10 years in prison. Both women previously served a 10-year sentence between 2008 and 2018 alongside five other Baha’is related to their social and spiritual work in the Iranian Baha’i community. Amid ongoing protests in Iran over mandatory religious headscarf laws and other restrictions on freedom, Iran’s government has arrested scores of Baha’is and other religious minorities.