- 1849-06-00 —
- 1852-08-31 —
Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál
- See AB10–11, BBD211–12, BKG79–83, CH41–2, DB631–3, GPB109 and RB1:9 for a description of the prison and the conditions suffered by the prisoners.
- No food or drink was given to Bahá'u'lláh for three days and nights. [DB608]
- Photo of the entrance to the Siyah-Chal (Black-Pit) where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned in Tehran.
- Bahá'u'lláh remained in the prison for four months. [CH41; ESW20, 77; GPB104; TN31]
- A silent video presentation on Bahá'u'lláh's time in the Síyáh-Chál made for the 150th anniversary of the event.
- "Upon Our arrival We were first conducted along a pitch-black corridor, from whence We descended three steep flights of stairs to the place of confinement assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and Our fellow prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and fifty souls: thieves, assassins and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!" [ESW20-21]
- See CH42–3 for the effect of Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment on His wife and children. Friends and even family were afraid to be associated with His immediate family. During this period Mírzá Músá helped the family surreptitiously and Mírzá Yúsif, who was married to Bahá'u'lláh's cousin, a Russian citizen and a friend of the Russian Consul, was less afraid of repercussions for his support of them.
- They were also assisted by Isfandíyár, the family's black servant that had been emancipated in 1839 on the order of Bahá'u'lláh. This man's life was in great danger. At one time they had 150 policemen looking for him but he managed to evade capture. They thought that if they questioned (tortured) Isfandíyár he would reveal Bahá'u'lláh's nefarious plots. [SoW Vol IX April 28, 1918 p38-39]
- Another who helped the family was Mírzá Muhammad Tabrizi who rented a house for them in Sangelak. [PG122]
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, as a child of eight, was attacked in the street of Tihrán. [DB616]
- See AB11–12, RB1:9 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's account of His visit to His father.
- Bahá'u'lláh's properties were plundered. [CH41; RB1:11]
- See BBD4–5; DB663; BKG94–8 and Bahá'í Stories for the story of 'Abdu'l-Vahháb-i-Shírází who was martyred while being held in the Síyáh-Chál.
- See BBD190, 200 and ESW77 about the two chains with which Bahá'u'lláh was burdened while in the Síyáh-Chál. Five other Bábís were chained to Him day and night. [CH41]
- Bahá'u'lláh had some 30 or 40 companions. [BBIC:6, CH41]
- For the story of His faithful follower and his martyrdom, 'Abdu'l-Vahháb see TF116-119.
- An attempt was made to poison Him. The attempt failed but His health was impaired for years following. [BBIC:6; BKG99–100, GPB72]
- Bahá'u'lláh's half-brother Mírzá Yahyá fled to Tákur and went into hiding. He eventually went to Baghdád. [BKG90, 107, CH41]
- 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 .
- 2010-09-16 — Following the reduction of his sentence, Vahid Tizfahm was transferred to Rajai-Shahr prison, where he remained until his release. Rajai-Shahr is located in the Alborz Province, and was at the time a maximum-security prison, a place for the "dangerous" individuals. According to Iran's Department of Prisons, Security and Corrections' Regulations, and based on the principle of Segregation of Crimes, Tizfahm's transfer to Rajai-Shahr was not legal. [Iran Press Watch 29 March, 2018]
- 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.
- 2016-11-24 — 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 —
- 2018-04-23 —
Afif Naeimi, the seventh and last imprisoned member of the Yaran, returned to Rajaee Shahr Prison (also known as Gohardasht Prison) near Tehran at the end of his medical leave despite suffering from life-threatening ailments.
- On May 1 the judiciary's medical experts had ruled that the 57-year-old was too ill to be incarcerated.
- Naeimi, who had completed his 10-year prison sentence, should have been released by that time but the judiciary extended his term by more than nine months—the period he was out of prison on furlough receiving medical treatment. He had hypertrophy, a condition where the heart muscle thickens and he was afflicted with Syncope disease, which causes temporary losses of consciousness. [Iran Press Watch 18975; Iran Press Watch 18975]
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