Fariba Kamalabadi

Her father was a doctor who was imprisoned and tortured in the 1970s due to his religious beliefs. She began an eight year educational program in the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education in her 30s. She is a member of the Yaran Iran group, which conducts administrative activities for the Baha'i community. She has three children

In the Spring and Summer of 2022, the Islamic Republic began a new wave of crackdown on Bahai citizens. The Islamic Republic arrested dozens of Bahai citizens in different areas of Iran and searched their homes. Some of them who had previously received prison sentences were sent to prison to serve their sentences and the security forces attacked Roshan Kooh village and destroyed the houses of Bahai villagers. <symbol-timeline></symbol-timeline>

<coverage-outsourcing id='9805'> Her father was arrested. According to HRANA he was tortured while in custody. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='4957'> She was arrested in Tehran. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='4958'> She was released from Evin Prison on bail. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='4959'> She was arrested in Mashhad and transferred to Evin Prison. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='4960'> She was released on bail. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='12598'> She and five other members of Yaran Iran were arrested and transferred to ward 209 of Evin Prison. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='696'> The global Baha'i community published a statement in which they criticized judicial officials for targeting the daughter of Shirin Ebadi, one of the attorney's representing a member of the Yaran Iran group for being of Baha'i faith. They claimed that Iranian officials are biased towards the Baha'i community and that they label any kind of sympathy for these individuals as espionage. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='689'> She and the other members of the Yaran Iran group transferred to the Public Ward after spending three and a half months in solitary confinement. After about one month these inmates were separated from the general population again where the five men were held in one cell and the two women in another. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='653'> The Tehran Judiciary reported that the defendant and six other Baha'i community leaders were charged with "Spying for Israel, Blasphemy , and propagating against the state". </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='659'> The first trial session for the defendant and six other Iranian Baha'i leaders was held in Branch 28 of Revolutionary Court. Their charges included: > Espionage for foreign countries, Propagating against the state, Founding and maintaining illegal groups, Collaboration with the Zionist occupying regime, Conspiracy to collect classified information and sharing it with foreign nations in an attempt to disrupt national security, gathering and colluding against national security internally and externally, defacing the Islamic Republic of Iran in the international community and corruption on Earth . </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='671'> The last trial session for her and six other Baha'i leaders was held publicly and took three days to hold in Branch 28 of Revolutionary Court, while their attorneys and family members were present. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='672'> She was sentenced to 20 years in prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='652'> In an act that defied the guidelines of separating prisoners, she was transferred to Rajaee Shahr Prison and housed near dangerous criminals. This was while the conditions in Rajaee Shahr Prison were described as "Lacking hygiene and security, wherein dangerous criminals were harming the female inmates". </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='701'> News of the decrease of her and six other Bahai' leaders' sentence to 10 years was relayed verbally to their attorneys. The "Espionage" charges were dropped in Branch 54 of Appeals Court presided by Judge Movahed and as a result the sentences were revised to be 10 years shorter. Ultimately, the decision by the Appeals Court was deemed unlawful and overturned by the Attorney General, who increased the sentences back to 20 years. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='683'> It was reported that the Appeals Court has upheld the 20 year sentence and has relayed this sentence to the defendant. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='618'> Upon dissolution of Rajaee Shahr Prison's Women's Ward, the defendant and Mahvash Sabet were transferred to Varamin's Qarchak Prison. They were transferred back to Evin Prison after two weeks. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='619'> The defendant and Mahvash Sabet, who were recently transferred to Varamin's Qarchak Prison, were transferred to Evin Prison. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='644'> From the three attorneys that represented the seven Baha'i citizens in court, Abdolfatah Soltani and Hadi Esmailzadeh were imprisoned and Mahnaz Parakand fled the country. Mahnaz Parakand spoke at the European Parliament in June 2011 and stated: > The arrest warrants for our clients looked more like a political statement than a legal warrant. It was a 50 page text... the warrant was full of insults and belittled the rights of Iranian Baha'is, especially our clients. The text was very general and did not include any substantial evidence . </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='629'> On the fifth anniversary of the arrests of Yaran Iran, UN experts Ahmed Shaheed, El Hadji Malick Sow, Head of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Heiner Bielefeldt, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and Rita Izsák, The UN Independent Expert on Minorities issues, asked he Iranian government o release the seven prisoners immediately. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='650'> She wrote a letter from prison to her daughter, Taraneh Taefi, due to the expulsion of Baha'i students from universities. In this letter she wrote "I wonder if there are any of my compatriots that would rise to serve justice. Is there anyone who feels heart ache from hearing the story of "Taraneh" and the "Taranehs", who will be inspired to call and act for justice." </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='622'> She wrote a letter to President Rohani along with the other six members of the Yaran Iran group : > The sentences that led to the expulsion of thousands of Baha'i individuals from government jobs, the execution of more than 200 Baha'i citizens, the expulsion of thousands of students from universities as well as the countless rulings made against Baha'i individuals in the last eight years and the legal process which led to each one of the seven of us to 20 years in prison, are a clear indication of the importance of having proper evidence in these cases. In fact, if there is no revision or adjustment to the mindless and arbitrary conditions under which citizen's rights can be violated, who can rest assured that they won't be subjected to the same fate that we are suffering today? </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='637'> In the seventh year of the incarceration of the seven Baha'i citizens, five members of the European Parliament requested their release from prison. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='7221'> According to Bahai news, after applying article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the prison sentences of Yaran Iran members reduced to 10 years. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='5983'> It was reported that she went on furlough for the first time in eight years. Her furlough and her meeting with Faezeh Hashemi became the headline of many media outlets in Iran and the judiciary and the state TV also reacted to it. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='10791'> According to HRANA, a meeting was held on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day in the women ward of Evin Prison. At this meeting, Atena Daemi, Maryam Naghash Zargaran, Mahvash Shahriari, Fahimeh Arafi, Sotoudeh Fazel, Maryam Akbari Monfared, Fatemeh Mosanna, Golrokh Iraee, Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahin Izadi, Reyhaneh Tabatabaei, Ameneh Jaberi and Narges Mohammadi gave lectures and discussed on the issue of human rights </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='15521'> According to Radio France, the International Bahai community started the "No to another year" campaign, demanding the release of the last member of Yaran Iran group. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='15509'> After a Twitter storm with thousands of users in support of the rights of Bahais in Iran, the US Department of State released a statement on its Facebook page calling the arrest of Yaran Iran group unjust and demanding their freedom. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='18237'> She and a group of political prisoners released a statement expressing concern about the transfer of prisoners to Rajai Shahr Prison. The statement was published by the Defenders of Human Rights Center. </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='19642'> She was released from prison </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='40963'> <reference source='https://cutt.ly/CZEdp6Z'> Security forces arrested at least eight Bahai citizens and searched the houses of over 20 Bahai citizens in different cities. According to IranWire, Afif Naimi and Saman Ostvar in Karaj, Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamal Abadi and Soha Sabeti in Tehran, Bahareh Pazhgaleh in Shiraz, and Behnam Momtazi and Masoud Bahrami in Qazvin are among the arrested citizens. According to the report, the security forces searched the houses of Raheleh Kashani in Shiraz, Shadi Khassezad, Hadieh Ghiabi, and Farideh Hedayati in Mashhad, Nima Haghar, Nazila Haghar, and Soraya Manouchehrzadeh in Tehran, Pouya Sarraf, Bita Momtazi, Sabin Yazdani, Basir Heravi, Shaghayegh Keshavarz, Sara SHabanpour, and Mozaffar Nabili in Karaj, Azadeh Yaghini in Gonbad, and Shakib Masoumi, SHafagh Fahandezh, Neda Taefi, Afsoun Moodi, and Shaghayegh Pourenayati in Gorgan. They also confiscated some of their personal devices and belongings such as laptops, cell phones, and books about the Bahai religion. IranWire also reported that after the agents searched the house of Kamyar Habibi in Karaj, they took him to his workplace, and after searching the place they shut down and sealed it. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='41471'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-36367/'> HRANA reported that after arrest, Mahvash Sabet (Shahriari) and Fariba Kamal Abadi were transferred to ward 209 of Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='41546'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-36692/'> Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamal Abadi, Afif Naimi, and Saman Ostovar are still in lockup. An HRANA source reported: > Since Mahvash Sabet's arrest, despite her husband's efforts and repeated visits, she's been denied phone calls with family. HRANA reported that despite the medical examiner's opinion which states Afif Naimi is unable to serve time in prison, he is still being held in a security lockup in Karaj and hasn't had contact with his family for over three weeks. According to the report, Saman Ostovar is also in solitary confinement in a security lockup in Karaj and under interrogation. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42768'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/faridsafajoo/status/1582656476098674689'> One of her friends, Fariba Safajou, tweeted: "Fariba Kamalabadi has informed her family in a phone call that she was not injured in the Evin Prison fire. During the countrywide protests in Iran in reaction to the murder of Mahsa Amini, parts of Evin Prison were set on fire. A number of prisoners lost their lives, and some were wounded by the bullets shot by the prison guards. A number of prisoners suffered poisoning from breathing in the smoke and tear gas. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='43029'> <reference source='https://iranwire.com/fa/news-1/109390'> IranWire reported that after 100 days, Fariba Kamal Abadi and Mahvash Sabet are still being held in separate solitary cells in ward 209. These cells currently hold two or three people but the conditions are still like a solitary cell. According to the reports, they are being denied family visitation. Ms. Kamal Abadi and Sabet are charged with "managing an illegal Bahai organization", </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='44109'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3h7xFcO'> The trial session of Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi was held at the 26th branch of the revolutionary court of Tehran presided by Judge Iman Afshari behind closed doors and with the presence of their attorneys. IranWire reported that the trial was held while Mostafa Nili, one of their attorneys has been arrested and could not attend. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='44435'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/siminfa/status/1601925401982500864?s=20&t=Jdgo-gCRRWqYDdDep_iFnA'> According to IranWire, Fariba Kamalabadi was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Judge Iman Afshari at the 26th branch of the revolutionary court of Tehran. The representative of the Global Bahai community announced that Mahvash Sabeti and Fariba Kamalabadi were convicted in an hour-long trial full of insults and humiliation from the judge. Ms. Kamalabadi's charge is forming and managing an illegal group. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46241'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnlxaw7Kyhk/'> Narges Mohammadi released a report on broad violations of human rights in Evin Prison, in which she states that Fariba Kamalabadi spent three years in solitary and eight months out of her 36 months in the Intelligence Ministry's 209 ward alone in terrible conditions. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46690'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3WTc5Yf'> IranWire reported that the International Human Rights Organization in Germany (IGFM) has announced that MP Markus Grübl has accepted the political guardianship of Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet. The statement says: > The two women are from the Iranian Bahai community and have been sentenced to ten years in prison each without the right to an attorney. The physical and mental health of Mahvash Sabeti (69) and Fariba Kamalabadi (60) is at serious risk. We demand their immediate and unconditional release and medical treatment. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='48240'> <reference source='https://www.radiozamaneh.info/752356'> Her sister Roya Kamalabadi told Radio Zamaneh that after her sister Fariba Kamalabadi's arrest, she was kept in a solitary cell in the 209 security ward in Evin Prison without family visits in terrible conditions. She said after the national uprising in 2022, about six or seven people were taken to this solitary cell and they all had to sleep in sitting positions because there wasn't enough room. After about four months, Fariba was transferred to the general population. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='48927'> <reference source='https://t.me/dhrciran/3589'> A group of civil rights activists released a statement condemning the arrest and prison sentences of Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet. The signatories rejected the allegations against the two Bahai citizens and claim they received these "unjust and heavy" sentences for being a Bahai. The statement says Mahvash Sabet is suffering from several illnesses caused by her long stay in prison, and Ms. Kamal Abadihas missed on her children growing up and getting married and the birth of her grandchildren due to her previous prison sentence. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='56167'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/z95kvxpb'> In a detailed report, IranWire has discussed the situation of Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet. In this report, while referring to the deprivation of these prisoners from the right of access to a lawyer, it is stated that "eight months have passed since the issuance of the first sentence, and the appeals court has not yet been convened. In the first few months, the authorities of the case stated that the reason for this delay was that the case was lost, but in recent months, they said that the case was found and it is pending trial." </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='56168'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2023/hranews/a-42774/'> According to HRANA, the ruling of the first court of Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi was confirmed by Branch 36 of the Court of Appeal of Tehran. This report states that "following the appeal petition, the case of these citizens was sent to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeal of Tehran province in February of last year, but after some time, it was transferred to the issuing branch of the Revolutionary Court to fix the flaws. Finally, the initial sentence was confirmed in the appeals court and was recently communicated to these citizens." </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>