GENEVA (29 July 2026) – UN experts*
today expressed grave concern over allegations of arbitrary
arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and other
ill-treatment against members of the Bahá’í religious
minority in Iran, warning that several detainees may face
risks to their mental and physical health, as well as
personal integrity.
“We are profoundly troubled by
reports that Bahá’í individuals are being subjected to
incommunicado detention, torture and enforced disappearance.
This is a clear violation of international law,” the
experts said.
They highlighted a pattern of escalating
repression targeting Bahá’ís, including a reported surge
in arrests and a broader campaign of stigmatisation.
Fifty-seven individuals from the Baha’i community are
reportedly detained or imprisoned.
Some detainees have
allegedly been forced to confess under torture, including
confessions broadcasted on State media – practices which
violate the absolute prohibition of torture and undermine
the right to a fair trial.
The experts raised serious
concern for the alleged arbitrary detention of Baha’i
individuals, including Payam Vali, Roya Sabet, Artin
Ghazanfari and Shakila Ghasemi, as well as Peyvand Naimi and
Borna Naimi, who have reportedly endured severe physical and
psychological abuse, including mock executions to extract
false confessions. Both men remain in pre-trial detention
under conditions that raise serious fears for their health
and safety.
The detention of Bahá’í individuals
takes place amid a broader wave of intensified arrests
across Iran since the outbreak of the war, raising
additional concerns about the compounding risks that
religious minorities are facing within this
context.
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“The targeting of religious minority
communities through alleged arbitrary detention, enforced
disappearance, and coercion constitutes a flagrant violation
of the right to freedom of religion or belief,” the
experts said.
They recalled that as a State party to
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
Iran is bound to uphold the freedom of religion or belief,
the prohibition of torture, and enforced disappearance,
ensure due process and protect minority rights.
The
experts urged authorities to immediately guarantee access to
legal counsel and medical care, and investigate all
allegations of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance,
torture and ill-treatment with a view to ensuring
accountability.
“Urgent measures are required to
prevent irreparable harm and end the reported pattern of
persecution against the Bahá’í minority,” they
said.
The experts have raised their concerns with the
Iranian
Government.
Notes:
*The
experts:
- Nicolas
Levrat, Special
Rapporteur on minority
issues - Nazila Ghanea,
the
Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or
belief - Mai Sato, the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
Islamic Republic of Iran - Alice
Jill Edwards, the
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or
punishment - Gabriella
Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna
Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé, and Ana Lorena
Delgadillo Pérez, the
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances
