Whereabouts of seven arrested Baha’i leaders now unknown

The six Baha’i leaders arrested two weeks ago, along with a seventh arrested in March, were believed to be in Evin Prison in Tehran, however, after repeated failed attempts by their family members to receive confirmation of this, it appears the seven Baha’i leaders are being held incommunicado in a unknown location, Baha’i World News Service reported Tuesday.

“Although initial reports indicated they were taken to Evin prison, in fact we don’t know where they are, and we are extremely concerned,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations. “What is clear is that none of their fundamental rights are being upheld. They have no access to family members or counsel. We don’t even know if they have been before a judge or whether they have been formally charged. All we know is what a government spokesperson said last week, which is that they were arrested for ‘security reasons’ a charge that is utterly baseless."

The Leadership Council for Human Rights, along with other concerned colleagues in the international human rights community, recently submitted an appeal letter to the leaders of the Iranian government calling for the expeditious release of the seven individuals.

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