HRANA: Iranian Baha’i Community Endures 1,500 Years in Prison Sentences Over Past Five Years

The Iranian Baha’i community has faced widespread repression, including mass arrests, long prison terms, and severe restrictions, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Between August 2020 and August 2025, at least 284 Baha’is were arrested and 270 others were summoned to security or judicial bodies in Iran. During the same period, HRANA documented 419 home searches, 147 trials, 127 travel bans, 108 prison sentence enforcements, 106 denials of education, and 57 economic activity restrictions.

The Baha’i faith, which emerged in 19th-century Persia with teachings of universal religion and progressive revelation, is considered by Iranian authorities as a “false religion” and a “cult.” Its adherents have long been targeted for persecution.

In the past five years, 388 Baha’is have been handed prison sentences totaling 17,948 months — the equivalent of 1,495 years and 8 months. HRANA also reported that 91 individuals were fined a total of about 503 billion tomans (approximately $12 million), while 103 people were deprived of social rights, and 25 individuals were sentenced to 600 months of exile.