HRANA – Yesterday, Sara Sepehri, a Baha’i resident of Shiraz, was arrested by security forces and taken to an undisclosed location. At the same time, both her residence and her mother’s home were searched, during which a number of her personal and digital belongings were confiscated. A source close to the family confirmed the news to HRANA, stating: “Ms. Sepehri was arrested yesterday by security agents at her residence. Simultaneously, both her home and her mother’s home were searched. During the search, all of her electronic devices, as well as personal and work-related items, were seized.” The source further added: “The agents broke down the front door in order to enter Ms. Sepehri’s home. Her mother also lives with a disability and requires continuous care. In addition, Sara Sepehri is under medical supervision, and the stress caused by the situation, combined with concern for her mother, could put her health at risk.” As of the time of this report, no information has been obtained regarding the reasons for her arrest, her place of detention, or the charges brought against this Baha’i citizen. Over the past decade, the Baha’i community in Iran has been subjected to more security and judicial pressure than any other religious minority. According HRA’s annual reports, an average of 62.41% of all reported violations concerning religious minorities over the past year involved violations of the rights of Baha’i citizens.
Second case of Baha’i subjected to mock executions and torture in Iran raises concern regarding escalation of persecution amid national crisis
Latest incidents expose Iranian authorities torturing a Baha’i prisoner to manufacture evidence against another—as concerns grow that the Islamic Republic is cracking down further on Iranian Baha’is
GENEVA—8 April 2026—
Borna Naimi, a 29-year-old Baha’i in Iran, and father of a three-year-old, has endured at least two mock executions, electric shocks causing severe burns to his feet, and other forms of torture, since his arrest in Kerman on 1 March.
His treatment, and that of another young Baha’i who faced similar treatment, are raising concerns regarding the intensification of the persecution against the Baha’is in Iran, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.
During the first days of detention, Borna was repeatedly beaten, receiving multiple blows to his sides, ribs, beneath the chest, and his back. He was transferred several times to places near his residence, where he was pressured with threats concerning his wife and young daughter, including threats that his child would be sent to a state orphanage if he did not cooperate.
Borna’s torture was so extensive that he was forced to sign a false confession in which he implicated himself and his cousin, Peyvand Naimi, in killing Basij guards during 8 January protests. No evidence exists for this charge, and neither Borna nor Peyvand could have committed these crimes, as they occurred after Peyvand had been detained and while Borna was surrounded by family at home. The text of his forced confession had been prepared beforehand and handed to him to read. No trial has been held for either prisoner.
Borna and his young daughter have a close relationship. The brutal psychological pressures surrounding his child have been intended to break Borna mentally to force him to confess to crimes he did not commit. The situation has caused great distress in his daughter—who thinks her father has abandoned her. Borna is known among other prison inmates as the prisoner who keeps the drawings and clothing of his daughter on the wall near him.
“It is impossible to not feel immense heart ache for the plight of this family, who have suffered such cruelty solely for their faith,” said Simin Fahandej, the Baha’i International Community’s Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “History will remember not only the merciless crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but also the courage and bravery of youth who, relying only on their inner convictions and beliefs, have stood firm in their beliefs in the face of a government that has stopped at nothing in its attempt to crush them.”
During his first days in prison, Borna was held in a special section of the prison called the “suite”—the “the death suite”—in which death row prisoners are held 48 hours before execution. Reports indicate that, during this time, he was held under solitary confinement in a small room about two-by-two metres in size, in such a way that he could not distinguish between night and day.
Borna was also extensively tortured further, including the use of electric shocks so extensively that it caused burns to his legs.
Borna’s mock executions follow the same treatment against Peyvand as reported on 24 March by the Baha’i International Community.
The cases raise serious concerns over the escalating persecution and violence facing Iran’s Baha’is as the Iranian government attempts to frame them for Iran’s crisis situation. Alarm over rising persecution comes as the authorities are attempting to scapegoat the Baha’is for the January 2026 protests and the current conflict.
“The treatment of Borna and Peyvand is a stark indication of the Islamic Republic’s relentless efforts to fabricate accusations against the Baha’is and falsely present them as responsible for crimes they did not commit,” said Ms. Fahandej.
“It raises grave concerns about the plans and intentions of the Iranian government for the Baha’is in Iran, who have, time and again, been scapegoated at moments of national crisis as a means of deflecting attention from its own deepening repression. Such actions not only endanger innocent lives but further entrench a pattern of systematic persecution that seeks to isolate, dehumanize, and ultimately silence an entire minority community.”
Background
Borna was arrested at his workplace by six masked officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization. He was handcuffed and taken to an IRGC detention centre—though his family received no word of his whereabouts or wellbeing for three days. Short phone calls then began but were cut after 8 March for a further week. Borna is an accomplished karate athlete with gold medals in both domestic and international competitions.
Peyvand was first arrested on 8 January, tortured, and endured two mock hangings, after he was accused of inciting unrest during the January protests and killing the Basij officers. After his 1 March arrest, Borna was accused of accompanying Peyvand and participating in the alleged murders. The charges are absurd and false. Peyvand’s 8 January detention occurred before the alleged incident, and Borna was at home at the time of the supposed crimes.
A previous false confession extracted from Peyvand was aired on 1 February on state television. Dozens of international officials and parliamentarians, prominent individuals, and rights groups have called for Peyvand’s release.
HRANA – Shayan Abadi, a Baha’i resident of Kerman, was arrested yesterday by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in the city and transferred to an undisclosed location.
Based on information received by HRANA, Shayan Abadi, 31 years old, was arrested on Monday, March 23, 2026 by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Kerman. As of the time of this report, no information is available regarding his place of detention or the charges against him.
Over the past decade, the Baha’i community in Iran has faced more security and judicial pressure than any other religious minority. A review of HRA’s annual reports indicates that over the past year, on average, 62.41% of reports concerning religious minorities were related to violations of the rights of Baha’i citizens
Wave of Baha’i arrests continues in Shiraz; Mahsa Sotoudeh detained
30 March 2026 15:23
Hengaw – Saturday, March 30, 2026
Mahsa Sotoudeh, a 25-year-old Baha’i resident of Shiraz, was arrested by Iranian government forces and taken to an undisclosed location. She is the third Baha’i adherent to be detained in the city in recent days.
According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) raided Sotoudeh’s home in Shiraz and arrested her at around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, 2026.
Informed sources told Hengaw that agents conducted a thorough search of the house, confiscated electronic devices belonging to all family members, and then transferred her to an undisclosed location.
Sotoudeh is a close relative of Pezhman Zarei, another Baha’i adherent who was arrested in Shiraz in mid-March 2026 and, nearly a month later, remains in an uncertain situation at an undisclosed location.
No precise information is available regarding the reasons for her arrest, the charges against her, or her place of detention. Ongoing efforts by her family to obtain information about her fate have so far been unsuccessful.
Bahá’í community calls for support for man held in Iran
A member of the Bahá’í community in Ireland has expressed concern over what she has described as torture, interrogation and mock executions that her cousin is enduring in Iran.
Sama Sabet, who lives in Dublin, has called for the support of the international community, following the arrest of her cousin Peyvand Naimi on 8 January.
The 28-year-old was arrested during the Iranian government’s response to protests at the time and was taken to an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) detention centre on what his relatives have described as “false charges”.
They say he is being persecuted for being a member of the Bahá’í faith.
The United Nations and international rights groups have documented the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran for many years; including denial of civil rights, imprisonment, torture and destruction of property.
According to Ms Sabet, following weeks of torture, on 1 February, Mr Naimi was forced to confess on state television to “a number of baseless charges.”
At the end of February, he was accused of being involved in the deaths of three Basij security agents during the January protests, despite Mr Naimi being in detention at the time of the alleged attack.
He was also accused of celebrating the death of Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei on 28 February – an event Ms Sabet has said her cousin had no knowledge of because he had no access to communications as a prisoner.
In a statement, the Bahá’í International Community has said that Mr Naimi is “in serious danger after enduring two show executions and prolonged torture and interrogations”.
The UN’s Bahá’í International Community Representative Simin Fahandej has backed the family.
She said the Islamic Republic did not have “a single shred of evidence” for the accusations.
“If it did, it would not have to resort to torture to extract a false confession. There is only one reason for this cruel treatment, and it is that Peyvand is a Bahá’í.
“It is the same reason Iran’s government has persecuted and discriminated against an entire innocent community for almost five decades,” she said.
She called for the international community to act fast and insist Iran “stop its senseless targeting of Bahá’ís”.
Ireland has consistently condemned the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.
A year ago, at the 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Noel White condemned the “continued discrimination and oppression of minority groups in Iran”.
He said members of the Bahá’í faith in particular faced limits in realising the right to education and accessing legal representation. Mr White also expressed Ireland’s increasing concern over the detention and oppression of Bahá’í women.
According to Ms Sabet, Mr Naimi has faced constant and severe torture, interrogation, and denial of food and water during his imprisonment.
She said that her cousin was “completely innocent of all charges” and that there was no evidence to support any of the claims and that he should be released immediately.
There are around 500 members of the Bahá’í faith living in Ireland.
This photo was taken by a young woman Baha’i in Shiraz. This was taken before the war but now I post it in hope of peace for The world and Iran in particular.
This photo was taken by a young woman Baha’i in Shiraz. This was taken before the war but now I post it in hope of peace for The world and Iran in particular.
this site is an individual effort copyright by Sam Murray. Contact: Sam.murray@ymail.com
