Tehran (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Iran cracks down on Baha’is, seizing property, arresting members, and using Article 49 to intensify persecution without legal due process.
As reported by The Telegraph, Iran has intensified its systematic persecution of the Baha’i community, with authorities notifying them by letter to leave long-held homes and properties.
More than 20 Baha’is in central Isfahan face the confiscation of their homes, assets, and vehicles solely due to their religion.
Officials are applying Article 49 to confiscate legally owned property without evidence or due process.
What did Padideh Sabeti say about Iran’s Baha’i crackdown?
Padideh Sabeti, a spokesman for the Baha’i international community in London, said,
“The judge has told the Baha’is that he has the intention to confiscate the assets of all the Baha’is – so you see these are not isolated events.”
She added,
“This kind of campaign wants to further impoverish the Baha’i community, who, like the rest of the country, are suffering from economic decline in the country, but they are facing it doubly.”
Ms Sabeti warned that authorities’ misuse of the law sets a risky precedent, adding,
“The regime in this difficult economic climate that all Iranians suffer has found an instrument and they’re trying to legalise it to use to further put pressure and impoverish the Iranian Baha’i community.”
She said,
“The trouble is that there is no record of it on electronic files of the government, so even their lawyers can’t defend them.”
Ms Sabeti stated,
“It’s basically theft, because if you don’t keep a record of confiscating properties of the citizens, and the lawyers have no access to it.”
She warned,
“Basically, they have always confiscated Baha’i properties, but now, under the invocation of article 49 is very dangerous because it will set a legal precedent for other cities to use this legal instrument.”
She called the current campaign a potential pilot programme.
Ms Sabeti said,
“We’re seeing this as a pilot that they’re doing this by trying to give it a legal cover to confiscate in one part of the country and then expanding it to others.”
She highlighted how these confiscations threaten families’ livelihoods, saying,
“How are they going to make a living? These people, some of them are actually in prison, some of the have received the text.”
Ms Sabeti stated,
“The 20 women who are in prison are among those who have received this text. It intimidates Baha’is all over Iran as this news is spread and they learn about it.”
She said,
“It was happening nationwide, but it’s gaining intensity, and we’re seeing how they’re misusing Article 49. It is very difficult. We were even surprised that this group consented to this information being shared.”
Ms Sabeti added,
“They can execute you. They’re expediting the execution of people who appear to be sort of working with Western governments, and this even providing information about human rights comes under that.”
How did Iran’s forces target Baha’i homes and assets in Isfahan?
Earlier this week, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard raided 10 Baha’i homes and businesses in Isfahan, seizing property and issuing threats without legal orders.
The Baha’i homes and businesses targeted belonged to Navid Mogharebin, Saeed Mogharebin, Manouchehr Rezaei, Sepehr and Shahab Torabi, Babak Babakan, Behnam Janmiyan, Peyman Makhmoor, Kourosh Sadeghi, and Omid Firouzmandi.
The operation started with searches of seven Baha’i businesses, followed by raids on their homes. Three neighbouring Baha’i families were also targeted.
Agents seized several items, including electronics, books, and valuables. The raids were carried out without warrants; one door was broken, and a resident was assaulted.
The seizures come after a harsher crackdown on Iran’s Baha’i community following the June Israel ceasefire. Dozens of Baha’i homes have faced coordinated raids by armed intelligence agents, often in the early hours.
Across Iran, reports say masked agents raided bedrooms, seizing electronics, religious texts, and personal items. In some cases, children and parents have been arrested and moved to unknown locations. Baha’i items are treated as illegal possessions.
In Iran, Baha’is are restricted in education, employment, and practising their faith. They are accused of spying or opposing the government, though no evidence supports these claims.
The seizures are a major escalation in Iran’s long-running persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
SMS notifications informed Baha’is of seizures, bypassing official legal channels, with no record appearing in Iran’s e-justice system. Authorities informed residents via text that their property was seized and that they must leave.
The rise in Baha’i persecution after the war mirrors Iran’s usual crackdown on minorities during social and political unrest.
The Special Court for Article 49, under Iran’s Revolutionary Court, is handling the confiscations. Property seized under Article 49 is sent to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, giving him direct control over Baha’i confiscations.
Iranian authorities launched new Article 49 cases against about two dozen Baha’is. The cases involve prisoners, those appealing, and some previously cleared. Homes, farms, vehicles, and bank accounts were seized without evidence.
What did Simin Fahandej say about Iran’s Article 49 seizures?
Simin Fahandej, representing the Baha’i international community at the United Nations in Geneva, said,
“Article 49 was crafted to return stolen wealth – not to steal citizens’ possessions and completely deprive families of their homes and basic livelihoods.”
She added,
“What we are seeing is state-led theft, confiscation by text message. It is discriminatory, unlawful, and intended to impoverish a religious minority for no reason other than their faith.”
Mohammad Javad Akbarin’s views on Iran’s Baha’i persecution
An Iranian scholar, Mohammad Javad Akbarin, warned that the persecution affects more than just Baha’is.
He added,
“What the Islamic Republic is doing today to our Baha’i fellow citizens is not merely a human rights violation against the Baha’is – it is an assault on Iranian society itself, on its diversity and pluralism.”
What did Judge Barati threaten Baha’i residents with in Isfahan?
Judge Morteza Barati of Isfahan’s Special Court for Article 49 plans to seize all Baha’is of their property.
In another hearing, Judge Barati reportedly told a Baha’i woman leaving his office,
“If the court is convened, we will ruin your life.”
Which Baha’i women in Isfahan were sentenced to prison?
Isfahan authorities sentenced ten Baha’i women in October 2024, including Negin Khademi, Yeganeh Agahi, Yeganeh Rouhbakhsh, Neda Badakhsh, Mojgan Shahrezaie, Shana Shoghifar, Arezou Sobhanian, Parastou Hakim, Bahareh Lotfi, and Neda Emadi, to a total of 90 years in prison.
One year later, each woman was notified by SMS and outside official records about a new Article 49 case.
Hamid Monzavi, Arshia Rowhani, and Arash Nabavi, under electronic monitoring, were told they could not make transactions ahead of an Article 49 hearing.
Neither the individuals nor their lawyers could appear, as access to the files was blocked.
An Isfahan Baha’i was told by SMS that his bank account had been blocked, with no reason given. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has repeatedly seized Baha’i property in a four-decade state-backed pattern.
What did reports say about Fariba Kamalabadi’s prison conditions?
Fariba Kamalabadi, 62, is a prominent Baha’i prisoner in Iran. She lost contact with her family for 48 hours after Israeli missile strikes on Evin prison.
Authorities moved her to Qarchak prison, a former livestock facility now used as a detention centre south of Tehran.
Ms Kamalabadi now shares a 12-square-metre room with seven other women, with triple-bunk beds too low to sit upright.
Key facts about the Bahaí community in Iran
Iran has 300k–350k Bahá’ís who face persecution, denied education, jobs, and burials.
Globally, 5–8 million Bahá’ís live in 200+ countries, running schools and healthcare projects.
In Iran, they face arrests, job and education bans, disappearances, and executions since 1979. The government’s policies block their progress and promote discrimination against the community.