- 1980-06-10 — The martyrdom of Yúsuf Subhání in Ivín Prison in Tehran. For an account of his execution and the events leading up to it see The Account of the Martyrdom of Mr. Yusuf Subhání, 10 June 1980 written by his brother-in-law, Jálál Khánimání. [World Order, Series2, Volume_17 Issue 1 p12-18]
- 1992-03-18 — The martyrdom of Mr. Bahman Samandari in the Evin prison in Tehran. Mr. Samandari was executed with no advance notice and in the absence of due process. A 52 year-old businessman from a distinguished Bahá'í family, he was buried secretly on 20 March 1992 and his family was not notified until 5 April 1992. This was the first execution in three and one-half years. It belied the public position taken by the Iránian government that the Bahá'ís were not being persecuted for their religious beliefs. [AWH118-9; VV126; Iranwire 22 Apr 2022]
- 2008-03-05 —
Mahvash Sabet – a schoolteacher and mother of two and a member of the national-level administrative group for Iran, the Yaran – was arrested after having been summoned to Mashhad to discuss some matters regarding a Bahá'í burial. She subsequently spent 175 days in solitary confinement. On the 26th of May she was moved to Evin prison in Tehran. [BWNS Special Report]
- This arrest marked a new wave of persecution of the Bahá'í Faith in Iran.
- See Iran Press Watch 10561 for the background story to her arrest.
- 2008-09-00 —
After enduring 3.5 months of solitary confinement, the imprisoned members of the Yaran were transferred to a regular prison cell where they could interact with other prisoners, still at the notorious Evin Prison .
- A month later, they were separated from other prisoners; the five men were kept in one cell and the two women in another, isolated from others. Their status was still noted as "temporary detention". [Iran Press Watch 1505]
- 2009-07-10 — Iranian officials told the families of the seven Bahá'í leaders being held in Evin prison in Tehran that their trial had been delayed. No new trial date was given. [BWNS723]
- 2010-08-08 —
The sentence of 20 years in prison was announced for members of the "Yaran-i-Iran" or "Friends of Iran" in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Moqayesseh (or Moghiseh)*. The charges were several: "espionage", "collaborating with enemy states", "insulting the sacred", "propaganda against the state" and "forming an illegal group". The prominent civil and human rights lawyer who defended them was Mr Abdolfattah Soltani. He would later serve a 13-year sentence in the Evin Prison for engaging in his profession. Another member of their legal defense team was the attorney Hadi Esmailzadeh who died in 2016 while serving a 4-year prison term for defending human rights cases. After the sentencing the seven Bahá'í leaders were sent to Raja'i prison in the city of Karaj (Gohardasht) , about 50 kilometers west of Tehran. [BWNS789]
- Raja'i prison in Mashhad has frequently been criticized by human rights advocates for its unsanitary environment, lack of medical services, crowded prison cells and unfair treatment of inmates by guards. [Wikipedia; Iran Press Watch 6315].
- Soon after their arrival four of the Yaran were transferred to room 17 in Section 6 of this notorious prison. Section 6 is infamous in human rights circles. It has often been the scene of bloody fighting among prisoners and it is considered extremely dangerous. It is where certain political prisoners have been sent to vanish. At first the Mafia-like gangs incarcerated in the same facility began to refer to the Yaran as "infidels". The authorities also tried to pressure other prisoners to insult and belittle the newly-arrived Bahá'ís, but it appeared that most other prisoners refused to comply with this suggestion. In fact, it was reported that most other prisoners were showing considerable respect to the Bahá'ís and tried to be hospitable. [Iran Press Watch 667]
- * For a profile of Judge Mohammad Moghiseh see Iran Press Watch 17764 .
- 2011-05-20 —
Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet were returned to Evin Prison in Tehran. They had spent a brief time in the appalling conditions at Qarchak prison, (from 3 May) some 45 kilometers from Tehran. [BIC Evin; BWNS826]
- The five men were still being held under close scrutiny in a wing of Gohardasht prison, reserved for political prisoners.
[BIC Report]
- 2014-11-00 — Fariba Kamalabadi, after having her fourth request to join her daughter Taraneh for her wedding denied, wrote her a letter from Evin Prison. [Iran Press Watch]
- See Iran Press Watch 11274 for Taraneh's story of how she grew up without her mother.
- 2016-05-13 —
Fariba Kamalabadi, while on a five-day furlough from Evin Prison, met with former Tehran MP Faezeh Hashemi. It was the first temporary leave she had been granted during her eight years of imprisonment.
- Faezeh Hashemi was the activist daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and she previously shared a prison cell with Kamalabadi in Evin Prison. Hashemi was strongly condemned by politicians and religious leaders for meeting with Mrs Kamalabadi. A high-ranking member of the Iranian Judiciary vowed that action would be taken against her. Despite the widespread criticism she received from powerful quarters in Iran, Faezeh Hashemi publicly defended her decision to meet with Kamalabadi. [Iran Press Watch, from NY Times, BWNS1108]
- 2016-11-24 — From her cell in Evin prison, In a open letter to her six-month old granddaughter, Bajar, Fariba Kamalabadi one of the members of the imprisoned Yaran of Iran, wrote about the suffering of the Bahá'í citizens and of her dreams for humanity. [Iran Press Watch 16140]
- 2017-09-19 —
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