Iranian Baha’i Member Detained in Isfahan on Propaganda Charges

Iranian authorities on Saturday arrested Navid Tashakor, a member of the Baha’i faith, after summoning him to the prosecutor’s office in Baharestan, Isfahan, according to a report from the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Following his appearance, Tashakor was immediately transferred to Isfahan Central Prison.

Prosecutors have charged Tashakor with “propaganda against the Islamic Republic through educational activity and/or deviant, contradictory, or disruptive promotional activities contrary to Islamic law,” marking his third detention in recent months.

This arrest comes amid an intensifying crackdown on Iran’s Baha’i community, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. The Baha’i faith, which originated in 19th century Persia, has an estimated 300,000 followers in Iran who have faced decades of systematic persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Tashakor’s recent history with authorities includes a 17-day detention that began on June 22 during heightened Iran-Israel tensions, after which he was released on bail. Earlier in June, he was briefly detained along with several work colleagues under accusations related to “Israeli drones” and released after one day of questioning.

Human rights experts view these repeated detentions as part of a pattern of harassment and intimidation. Diane Alai, representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, told reporters in a statement obtained after the incident, “These arbitrary detentions follow a familiar pattern where Baha’is are arrested on vague charges that lack evidence and are clearly motivated by religious prejudice.”

The persecution of Baha’is in Iran extends beyond individual arrests. Community members face systematic discrimination in virtually every aspect of life. They are banned from higher education, restricted from certain professions, regularly denied government employment, and prohibited from openly practicing their faith.

Iranian authorities frequently accuse Baha’is of espionage, typically claiming connections to Israel, where the Baha’i World Centre is located in Haifa for historical reasons dating to the Ottoman era. The Baha’i International Community has consistently denied these allegations, noting that no credible evidence has ever been presented to support such claims.

“The charges against Baha’is often follow predictable templates,” explains Jasmin Ramsey, deputy director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran. “Accusations of spying for Israel or propaganda against the state are routinely applied to Baha’is engaging in ordinary religious activities.”

Over the past two years, the situation has markedly deteriorated. Dozens of Baha’is have been imprisoned on questionable charges, while authorities have systematically confiscated or destroyed Baha’i-owned properties, particularly in the village of Roshankouh in Mazandaran Province, where homes were demolished in August 2022.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, has repeatedly expressed concern about the treatment of Baha’is, calling the situation “deeply troubling” in his most recent report to the UN Human Rights Council.

Human Rights Watch, in its latest annual report, characterized the systematic suppression of Baha’is as a crime against humanity, noting the deliberate policy to exclude them from civic life.

International human rights organizations continue to call for Iran to end religious discrimination and respect the rights of all its citizens regardless of faith. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has designated Iran as a “country of particular concern” for 23 consecutive years due to its treatment of religious minorities, with the Baha’i community often highlighted as facing particularly severe persecution.

As Tashakor begins his detention in Isfahan Central Prison, his case represents just one example of the broader human rights challenges facing religious minorities in Iran, where freedom of belief remains heavily restricted.