Additional Name(s): Mitra Bandi Amir-Abadi, میترا بندی امیرآبادی
Gender: Female
Current Location: Yazd Prison
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Reduced to 8 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: December/13/2021
Current Status: Unknown
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Mitra Bandi Amirabadi was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On May 30, 2020, security forces arrested Amirabadi in Yazd.
In September 2020, Amirabadi was released on bail.
On an unspecified date, Branch 2 of the Yazd Revolutionary Court reportedly sentenced Amirabadi to two years and eight months in prison for "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security" (Art. 499 IPC) and eight months in prison for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
In October/November 2021, Branch 11 of the Yazd Court of Appeals reportedly acquitted Amirabadi of "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security" (Art. 499 IPC) and upheld her eight-month sentence for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
On December 13, 2021, security forces arrested Amirabadi from her home and sent her to Yazd Prison to begin serving her sentence.
Amirabadi's sentence should have ended.
Related Cases: Hiwa Yazdan Mehdi Abadi, Amin Zolfaghari, Mahboubeh Misaghian
Photo attributed to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Mitra Bandi Amirabadi" United for Iran
"Two Baha’i Citizens Arrested and Sent to Yazd Prison to Serve Their Sentences" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"میترا بندی امیرآبادی و هیوا یزدان مهدی آبادی شهروندان بهائی، جهت تحمل حبس به زندان یزد منتقل شدند" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Four Baha’i Citizens Sentenced to a Total of 32 Months Imprisonment by Appeals Court" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Detention of Iranian Baha’Is Mitra Bandi-Amir Abadi and Hiva Yazdan-Mehdi Abadi in Yazd" Iran Press Watch
Additional Name(s): امین ذوالفقاری
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Reduced to 8 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: May/24/2022
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Amin Zolfaghari was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On May 21, 2020, intelligence agents arrested Zolfaghari at his home in Yazd.
On June 23, 2020, Zolfaghari was released on bail.
On an unspecified date, Branch 2 of the Yazd Revolutionary Court sentenced Zolfaghari to two years and eight months in prison for "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security" (Art. 499 IPC) and eight months in prison for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
In October/November 2021, Branch 11 of the Yazd Court of Appeals reportedly acquitted Zolfaghari of "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security" (Art. 499 IPC) and upheld his eight-month sentence for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
On May 24, 2022, Zolfaghari was reportedly transferred to Yazd Prison to begin serving his sentence.
On an unspecified date, Zolfaghari was reportedly released after completing his sentence.
Related Cases: Hiwa Yazdan Mehdi Abadi, Mitra Bandi Amirabadi, Mahboubeh Misaghian
Photo attributed to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Amin Zolfaghari" United for Iran
"Baha’i Citizen Amin Zolfaghari Imprisoned in Yazd Prison" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"امین ذوالفقاری، شهروند بهائی راهی زندان یزد شد" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"میترا بندی امیرآبادی و هیوا یزدان مهدی آبادی شهروندان بهائی، جهت تحمل حبس به زندان یزد منتقل شدند" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Yazdi Baha’i Amin Zolfaghari Arrested" Iran Press Watch
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: India
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Caste: Dalit
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: September/8/2020
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Civil Rights Work for Religious Communities Human Rights Work for Religious Communities
Nature of Charges: Hate Speech Terrorism Treason & Sedition
Jyoti Jagtap is detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.
On September 8, 2020, the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Pune arrested Jagtap, a human rights defender and member of the Kabir Kala Manch cultural troupe. Jagtap was charged alongside several other prominent Dalit and Adivasi rights activists, whom authorities accused of inciting caste-based violence through speeches on December 31, 2017, that resulted in violent clashes the next day in Bhima Koregaon and neighboring villages in Maharashtra state. Authorities also accused them of having ties to banned Maoist groups. Jagtap was reportedly charged under various sections of the Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Jagtap was later brought to National Investigation Agency office in Mumbai.
In August 2021, the National Investigation Agency submitted draft charges to a special court in Mumbai, claiming that Jagtap and others accused in the case were active members of the banned terrorist organization Communist Party of India. It also alleged that the accused wanted to establish a “janta sarkar” “via revolution supported by a commitment to protracted armed struggle to undermine and to seize power from the state.” The accused were charged with over a dozen offenses including, "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony" (Sec. 153A IPC), public mischief (Sec. 505(1)(B) IPC), “waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India” (Sec. 121 IPC), “conspiracy to commit offences” waging war against the state (Sec. 121A IPC), sedition (Sec. 124A IPC), and several sections under UAPA.
Related Cases: Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Anand Teltumbde, Hany Babu, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Tatyarao Gorakhe, Stan Swamy
“Bhima Koregaon 16” Amnesty International
“Elgar Parishad case: Waging war on country in NIA draft charges; no mention of ‘bid to kill PM’” The Indian Express
“Elgar case: What NIA draft charges submitted in court say, against whom” The Indian Express
“NIA submits draft charges against Bhima Koregaon accused” The Hindu
“The Young Woman Who Would Not Cry” Article 14
“Bhima Koregaon: Singer Jyoti Jagtap of Kabir Kala Manch arrested in Pune” Scroll.in