Baha'i man Moein Mohammadi Dehaj sentenced to more than 16 years in prison

Hengaw – Thursday, August 6, 2026

Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of Yazd sentenced Moein Mohammadi Dehaj, a 39-year-old Baha'i resident of Yazd and one of those arrested during the January 2026 protests, to a total of 16 years, 7 months and 18 days in prison. The court also imposed permanent dismissal from public and government service and additional social restrictions.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights and the court verdict, if the convictions are upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, Article 134 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code, which governs the aggregation of sentences, will apply. As a result, Mohammadi Dehaj would serve the harshest sentence of 12 years, 6 months and one day in prison.

The court sentenced Mohammadi Dehaj to 12 years, 6 months and one day in prison and permanent dismissal from public and government service on charges of "espionage" and "collaboration with the Zionist regime and hostile states." It also sentenced him to 3 years, 6 months and one day in prison and a 10-year deprivation of social rights for "deviant propaganda activities contrary to the sacred law of Islam" under Article 500 bis of the Islamic Penal Code, and to 7 months and 16 days in prison for "propaganda against the state" under Article 500.

In its reasoning, the court alleged that Mohammadi Dehaj had "encouraged and incited violent acts during previous protest movements." However, he was already in prison throughout the nationwide protests of 2019 and 2022, serving sentences imposed in earlier cases.

Security forces raided Mohammadi Dehaj's home on January 5, 2026, arresting him and confiscating his personal belongings. He was granted temporary release on March 17, 2026, after his family posted 1 billion tomans in bail. The court later raised the bail to 5 billion tomans, requiring his family to post the higher amount to maintain his temporary release.