Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 15 March 2026: Several Baha’i citizens in Kerman have been held in detention despite the ongoing wartime conditions. Reports suggest that in tandem with the nationwide protests in January, at least twenty Baha'i citizens have been arrested in various cities throughout Iran.
According to reports, numerous cases of arrests, summons and judicial proceedings against Baha'i citizens were recorded between January and March 2026. In some instances, those detained were denied contact with their families and access to legal counsel for a period of time; in other cases, no information is yet available on their whereabouts or conditions of detention.
Continued Detention of Baha'i Citizens in Kerman
Shakila Ghasemi, a 26-year-old Baha'i citizen residing in Kerman who was arrested by IRGC intelligence forces on 2 February 2026, remains held incommunicado.
Shaghayegh Ghasemi, the sister of this Baha'i citizen, told IHRNGO that although most of those arrested by IRGC intelligence in Kerman have been released, Shakila Ghasemi and Borna Naeimi, both Baha'i citizens, remain in custody.
Shaghayegh also expressed concern about the conditions of her sister's detention, noting that the family has no information on her exact place of detention. She stated: "The family's requests for information about where Shakila is being held, as well as her release on bail or with an electronic ankle tag, have so far gone unanswered."
Furthermore, she noted: "Two other Baha'i citizens, Adib Shahbazpour and Peyvand Naeimi, are also being held in Kerman Prison, where Peyvand Naeimi is being kept in solitary confinement."
Peyvand Naeimi was arrested at his workplace on 8 January 2026 and Adib Shahbazpour at his home on 20 January. Borna Naeimi, 29 years old and a father of one child, was also arrested at his home in Kerman on 1 March 2026, with security agents using violence during the apprehension. He has been incommunicado since his arrest.
In the same city, Venus Hosseininejad, Rozhin Hosseininejad, Aylin Sahragard, and Pouyan Gholami, other Baha'i citizens, were also arrested by security forces during January and February 2026.
Meanwhile, Venus Hosseininejad and Peyvand Naeimi have been charged in a joint case related to the nationwide protests of January 2026 with “membership of an online network under Israeli influence”, and state media broadcast a report on 1 February containing their forced confessions.
The Office of the Baha'i International Community in Geneva issued a statement on 3 February 2026, describing the broadcast of such forced confessions on state television as indicative of "a major escalation in the Iranian government's campaign against the Baha'i community". The statement declared that Bahá'ís face a fresh wave of repression, "scapegoating and incitement to hatred in the midst of a national crisis".
Security Crackdown on Bahá'í Citizens in Various Cities Across Iran
A number of Baha'i citizens in other Iranian cities have also faced security and judicial measures by the Islamic Republic during the winter of 2026.
In Mashhad, security forces arrested Payam Faridian on 22 January, and no information is available on his condition. Five other Baha'i citizens, Afarin Bashash, Sepehr Koushkbaghi, Navid Zarrebin Irani, Erfan Tabatabaei, and Rabi Maleki, have also been arrested in this city.
Other Baha'is arrested during the winter include Moein Mohammadi in Yazd, Forough Ram in Zahedan, Hamed Mehrabkhani in Tabriz, and Artin Ghazanfari, a photojournalist in Tehran.
Additionally, Nita Babanejad and her son Parsa Emadi, two Bahá'í citizens residing in Isfahan, were arrested at their home by agents of the city's Intelligence Department on 5 March 2026 and remain in detention. They have been charged with "propaganda against the state."
The Islamic Republic's judiciary routinely relies on security-related charges as the basis for building cases against Baha'i citizens, a practice that forms part of the sustained and systematic pressure exerted against the Baha'i community in Iran.
* The image above features eight Bahá'í citizens who were detained in the city of Kerman during the wave of arrests in winter 2026.
Top row, from left: Shakila Ghasemi, Pouyan Gholami, Peyvand Naimi, Venus Hoseininejad
Bottom row, from left: Borna Naimi, Aylin Sahragard, Rojin Hoseininejad, Adib Shahbazpour