Baha’i citizen Vafa Kashefi sentenced to six years in prison

Hengaw – Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Vafa Kashefi, a Baha’i citizen currently held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, has been sentenced by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court to a total of six years in prison, of which two years and six months will be enforceable.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Kashefi was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt national security” and one year for “propaganda against the state.” The ruling was formally communicated to him on August 29, 2026.

Under the court ruling, two years and six months of the total sentence have been suspended for a specified period. If the ruling is upheld, the application of Iran’s sentence-merging provisions and the principle of enforcing the most severe punishment will result in an enforceable prison term of two years and six months. Kashefi was also acquitted of the charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “inciting and encouraging people to participate in unrest.”

Kashefi was first arrested at his home by Iranian security forces on January 11, 2026, during a wave of widespread arrests, and was temporarily released on bail one week later. On April 21, 2026, he was summoned to the Mashhad Revolutionary Court, where he was rearrested and transferred to Vakilabad Prison. He has remained in detention there through his trial and the issuance of the sentence.