Two Baha’i adherents, Iraj Shakour and Pedram Abhar, arrested in Tehran to serve five-year prison sentences

Hengaw – Monday, September 7, 2026

Iraj Shakour and Pedram Abhar, two Baha’i residents of Tehran, have been taken into custody to begin serving five-year prison sentences after being summoned to the Sentence Enforcement Office of the Tehran Security Prosecutor’s Office.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Shakour, a writer and researcher, and Abhar were taken into custody on September 7, 2026, and transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran to begin serving their sentences.

The two were initially sentenced to five years in prison by Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Seyed Ali Mazloum, on the charge of “membership in groups and organizations with the intent to undermine national security.” The sentences were subsequently upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeals.

Abhar was previously arrested by Iranian security forces on November 21, 2021, and temporarily released on December 25 of that year after posting bail of 1.2 billion tomans.

Shakour had also previously been summoned and interrogated and remained temporarily free on bail until the enforcement of his sentence.