In Iran, 90-year-old Jamaloddin Khanjani, once a member of the unofficial governing body of the Iranian Bahai community, was arbitrarily arrested on 13 August. He had already been imprisoned for ten years, from 2008 to 2018. Other activists, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, who were also members of this body, were arrested on 31 July 2022 and their 10-year imprisonment sentence has since been upheld—according to Baha’i  Internation Community website. They had been previously been incarcerated for ten years on fabricated charges of threatening National Security.  Afif Naimi’s seven year jail term was also confirmed. They continue to be denied urgent medical treatment and access to their lawyer.  

Hundreds of activists continue to face arbitrary arrrests and harrassment. The pressure on the Bahai religious community under the rule of the Mullahs in Iran has increased over the past year. Observers of the continuous persecution since the Islamic Revolution are concerned about this intensification. Dozens of Bahais have since been arrested, tried and sentenced to prison. Most of them are accused of spreading the religious teachings of their community – the accusation is a clear violation of the UN Civil Covenant, to which Iran is a party.