Additional Name(s): ماریا خانجانی

Gender: Female

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Bahá`í

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: August/13/2023

Date of Release: September/13/2023

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Association Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Maria Khanjani

Extra Bio Info:

Maria Khanjani was detained or her religious association. 

On August 13, 2023, security forces apprehended Khanjani and her father Jamaloddin Khanjani and took them to Evin Prison. The specific grounds for their detention, as well as the charges against them, remain undisclosed.

On September 13, 2023, Khanjani was reportedly released on bail.

Maria's father formerly served as a manager for a dissolved Baha’i group named “Yaran e Iran” or “Friends of Iran,” an organization that aimed to address the spiritual and social needs of the Baha’i community.

Related Cases: Jamaloddin Khanjani

Sources:

Additional Name(s): Bakhram Saparov, Bahram Jumanazarowich Saparow

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Turkmenistan

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 15 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: March/9/2013

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Attending a Religious Gathering or Meeting Religious Activity Religious Association Religious Belief Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role Religious Instruction & Teaching

Nature of Charges: Arms Trafficking & Illicit Use of Weapons Banned Organization Hate Speech Theft & Robbery Treason & Sedition

Bahram Saparov

Extra Bio Info:

Bahram Saparov is imprisoned for his religious activities.

On March 9, 2013, authorities arrested Saparov for leading an unregistered Muslim community. Since 2007, Saparov organized meetings in homes to study and learn about Hanafi Sunni Islam. Authorities also arrested that same day twenty other Muslims who were members of Saparov’s community.

On May 22, 2013, the Lebap Regional Court in Turkmenabad convicted Saparov reportedly for "conspiracy to seize power" (Art. 174-1 TCC), "calls to violent change of the constitutional order" (Art. 175-2 TCC), “inciting social, national, ethnic, racial or religious hostility” (Art. 177-3 TCC), "creating an organized criminal group" (Art. 275-1 TCC), “participating in an organized criminal group” (Art. 275-2 TCC), and “theft or extortion of firearms, its accessories, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices” (Art. 291 TCC). Saparov was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

On July 4, 2014, Saparov was reportedly convicted of theft (Art. 227-4 TCC) and “participating in an organized criminal group” (Art. 275-2 TCC). Saparov was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

On June 7, 2016, Saparov was reportedly convicted of theft (Art. 227-2 TCC) and robbery (Art. 231-2). Saparov was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Saparov’s sentences were combined ending at the completion of the latest sentence.

In September 2016, a source who had last seen Saparov in late 2014 told Forum 18 that prison officers had beaten Saparov so badly that his face was unrecognizable.

In November 2016, the government submitted to the UN Committee against Torture in Geneva that Saparov was serving his sentence in Ovadan-Depe Prison.

Sources:

Aug 9, 2023

USCIRF Condemns Recent Arrests and Jailing of Baha’is in Iran

Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today condemned the Iranian government’s recent mass arrests and jailing of members of the Baha’i community. In recent months, scores of Baha’is have been arrested, tried, and jailed on religiously-grounded charges and targeted on the basis of their faith. Iran’s government considers Baha’is a “deviant sect of Islam” and systematically restricts their freedom of religion or belief.

“Iran’s renewed crackdown on Baha’is ahead of the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s killing demonstrates the worsening deterioration of religious freedom conditions,” said USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman. “The U.S. government should continue to support religious minorities in Iran by expediting general license applications allowing Iranians to receive critical support from abroad. It should also continue to support international efforts to hold Iranian officials accountable for these egregious religious freedom violations.”

While Iran has systematically persecuted Baha’is for decades, this persecution has increased amid nation-wide protests over mandatory hijab laws and other restrictions on freedom of religion or belief. In July, Iranian authorities arrested a group of Baha’is in Gilan province on accusations of “promoting Baha’i teachings.” Earlier this month, nine Baha’i women in Mashhad were summoned to appear in court and began serving sentences at Kachoui Prison and Karaj Central Prison on charges including educational and promotional activities against Shari’a. In addition, the Mashhad Revolutionary Court sentenced a Baha’i woman to ten years and three months in prison on the same charge, as well as a spate of additional spurious national security charges. Three members of Iran’s former Baha’i leadership remain in prison in 2023 despite having served a decade in prison on prior charges: Afif Naimi, Mahvash Sabet, and Fariba Kamalabadi.

“Iran’s contempt for basic human rights is evident in its loathsome persecution of Baha’is and use of religiously-grounded laws to restrict freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Commissioner Eric Ueland. “The Biden administration should continue to sanction officials responsible for these outrageous violations. Congress must also continue to convey in a bipartisan manner its support for protestors and the necessity to ensure safety to every Iranian religious minority suffering at the hands of this cruel regime.”

In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department redesignate Iran as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In April 2023, USCIRF released a report highlighting the sexual and gender based violence against religious freedom protestors in Iran. In May, USCIRF held a hearing on transnational repression and religious freedom, including repression by the government of Iran.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].

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