Report: Seven Bahai activists in Iran sentenced to jail

Oct 18, 2011, 18:18 GMT

Tehran - Seven Bahai activists in Iran have been sentenced to jail terms of between four to five years, the opposition website Rahe Sabz reported Tuesday.

Kamran M and Vahid M were sentenced to five years, while Riaz S, Mahmoud B, Ramin Z, Farhad S and Noushin K got four-year jail terms for alleged membership in illegal groups and acting against national security.

According to Rahe Sabz, the seven were working for Iran's On Line University of Bahais and were not involved in political activities.

Bahaism, a monotheistic religion promoting the unity of all religions and mankind, is not recognized or allowed in Iran, where the official religion is Shiite Islam.

Bahai missionaries are routinely arrested and detained - unlike Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian missionaries, whose faiths are recognized and protected by the government.

Several Western countries have expressed concern over the treatment of Bahais in Iran, but the Iranian judiciary say that religious minorities in Iran, including Bahais, are not jailed for their religious affiliation, but because of crimes they have committed.