Additional Name(s): فرهنگ صهبا
Gender: Male
Current Location: Dastgerd Prison
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 5 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: September/23/2018
Date of Sentencing: November/21/2018
Date of Release: January//2019
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Farhang Sahba
Extra Bio Info:
Farhang Sahba is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On September 23, 2018, intelligence agents arrested Sahba following a raid on his home. He was then transferred into solitary confinement until October 10, 2018. Sahba was also reportedly denied access to a lawyer.
On October 10, 2018, Sahba was transferred to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan Province.
On November 21, 2018, the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan sentenced Sahba to an effective five years in prison for "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security (Art. 499 IPC) and "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
In January 2019, it was reported that Sahba's appeal had been rejected.
Publicly Available Information:
- "Farhang Sahba" United For Iran
Additional Name(s): Fouzhan Rashidi, Fozhan Rashidi, فوژان رشیدی
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 3 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: September/23/2018
Date of Release: October/14/2019
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Foujan Rashidi
Extra Bio Info:
Foujan Rashidi was imprisoned for her religious identity and activity.
On September 23, 2018, intelligence agents arrested Rashidi following a raid on her home. Her arrest coincided with a wave of arrests targeting the Baháʼí community. Rashidi was reportedly placed in solitary confinement.
On October 10, 2018, Rashidi was reportedly transferred to Dowlatabad Prison.
Iran Wire reported that Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced Rashidi to three years in prison in November 2018 for “membership in the illegal Baha’i administration with the purpose of acting against domestic security” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic regime by teaching the Baha’i Faith.” United For Iran reports that Rashidi was sentenced to three years in prison and charged with "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security" (Art. 499 IPC) and "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
In December 2018/January 2019, it was reported that an appeals court had upheld Rashidi's sentence.
On October 14, 2019, Rashidi was released conditionally.
Rashidi is married.
Publicly Available Information:
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"Fozhan Rashidi" United For Iran
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"Incarceration, Unemployment and Expulsion from University, All for Being Baha’i" Iran Press Watch
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"Persecution of Baha'is Continues With 60 Arrests and Interrogations" Iran Wire
Dec 13, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2019
USCIRF Calls for Immediate Release of Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi
WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns Saudi Arabia’s intensified mistreatment of religious prisoner of conscience Raif Badawi. The Saudi government has moved Badawi to solitary confinement and he has declared a hunger strike in protest. This is Badawi’s second hunger strike since September 2019. Saudi Arabia arrested Badawi in 2012 on charges of “apostasy” and insulting Islam. USCIRF has advocated for Saudi Arabia to release him since 2013 and has recommended that Congress and the administration continue do the same in its 2019 annual report.
“Raif Badawi should be immediately granted clemency, released and allowed to rejoin his family, not subjected to additional abuse,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Nadine Maenza, who adopted Badawi as part of the Commission’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “Saudi Arabia’s abysmal treatment of this peaceful blogger directly contradicts the government’s official narrative of working toward greater modernization and of improving religious freedom conditions.”
“The administration should redouble its efforts to push for Raif Badawi’s release in light of this change in the conditions of his confinement,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin. “Furthermore, the State Department should immediately lift the waiver shielding Saudi Arabia from consequences mandated by U.S. law because of its designation as an egregious religious freedom violator.”
Badawi was the author of the Free Saudi Liberals blog where he wrote articles that peacefully challenged religious doctrine that the Saudi government espouses and enforces. In 2015, a Saudi court upheld against him a sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, 1000 whip lashes and a one million riyal ($266,000) fine. In January 2015, Mr. Badawi received 50 lashes publicly outside a Jeddah mosque, but he has not since faced further public whippings. Mr. Badawi suffers from chronic medical conditions and observers have expressed concern that he is already in ill health.
During the 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Vice President Michael R. Pence called for Badawi’s release. However, since 2006, the State Department has maintained a waiver for Saudi Arabia that prevents otherwise legislatively mandated action to which it would be subject as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF first recommended the waiver be lifted that same year.
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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 threats to 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] or 202-523-3240.