The 10 Baháʼí women of Shiraz

The 10 Baháʼí women of Shiraz executed on 18 June 1983

  1. Mona Mahmoudnejad, 17;

  2. Roya Eshraghi, 23, executed along with her mother;

  3. Simin Saberi, 24;

  4. Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25;

  5. Akhtar Sabet, 25;

  6. Mahshid Niroumand, 28;

  7. Zarrin Moghimi-Abyaneh, 29;

  8. Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavashi, 30. Her husband, Jamshid Siavashi, was executed two days earlier;

  9. Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46. Her son, Bahram Yaldaie, was executed two days earlier;

  10. Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, 57, along with her daughter Roya, 23. Her husband, Enayatullah Eshraghi was executed two days earlier.

Mona Mahmoudnejad, 17

Early life

  • Mona was born 10 September 1965 in Aden, Yemen, and was four years old when her family returned to Iran.

  • Mona’s family was very humble and sensitive, passing these traits to Mona. While she was only a young child, she was already displaying these qualities which later led to her becoming known, even as a youth, as the “Angel of Shiraz”. When she attended school in Tabriz, for example, she became so close to her teachers that she would cry when they left the school for some other position. (Baha'i Chronicles)

Education and work

  • When Mona entered the third grade in Shiraz, she was quickly recognized as an excellent student and was considered one of the most outstanding in the school. She also had a beautiful singing voice and a genuine love for those around her, especially younger children who would often surround her when she arrived at school just to be with her. (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • The persecution of the Baha'is extended to … the school level by expelling numerous Baha'i children, especially those attending high school and university. In Shiraz, a number of Baha'i children had been expelled and Mona expected that her expulsion would come soon as well. But rather than fear it, she looked forward to it, since she would then be able to spend all her efforts for the Faith. (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • In the fall of 1981 (her second year of High School), she enrolled in a course on religious literature. Up to that point, like most Baha'is in Iran, her freedom to mention her Faith had always been strictly curtailed and was limited to brief and private responses to the questions of fellow students about the symbol on the stone in the ring she wore. However, when the literature teacher assigned the students a paper on the topic: “the fruit of Islam is freedom of conscience and liberty, whoever has a taste for it is benefitted,” Mona poured out her frustrations at being silenced in a poignant essay … The frank openness of her paper caused a furor at the school. The principal, who was considered a fanatical Muslim, called Mona to his office and warned her that she no longer had the right to mention the Baha'i religion while on school grounds, a prohibition which Mona obeyed. (Baha'i Chronicles)

Family

  • Mona’s mother was arrested in January 1983 due to her inquiries about her husband and daughter on charges of membership in the “marriage and intimacy” group, which is the “Friendship Society of Baha'is”. At that time, her only daughter who was not in prison was Taraneh, who was 22 years old at the time. (Tavaana)

  • While Mona’s mother was in prison, her husband Yadu’llah Mahmudnezhad was executed, on 13 March 1983.  Mona’s father was a teacher and one of the administrators of the Baha'i Community. Before becoming a Baha'i, he had been a Muslim; because of this he was charged with apostasy. According to reliable sources, many Baha'is were allowed a visit with their families one day before their execution, while neither they nor the families were aware that they would be executed the very next day. (Tavaana)

Baha'i activities

  • By the time Mona became a teenager, she was well known in Shiraz by both young people and adults, both inside and outside the Baha'i community. She was noted for her academic excellence, entering advanced Baha'i classes with students who were often much older. She did well, however, and was one of the best at memorizing many prayers and passages from the Baha'i writings. Mona’s love for the Faith ran so deep that she would often awake in the middle of the night to pray and meditate. (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • When Mona turned 15, she registered as a Baha'i youth and reapplied to the Education Committee. She was assigned to the Children’s Education Committee and began teaching Baha'i children’s classes, which included the study of the great religions, developing spiritual qualities, encouraging the children to put their talents and education to the service of their fellow man and especially learning to appreciate the oneness and diversity of the human family. (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • Mona’s Baha'i activities accelerated and … she spent so much time on them that she was having difficulties completing her school assignments. At one point, the pressure was so great that she considered resigning from her Baha'i activities, but could not do it … she also began walking to school instead of riding a bus and saved enough pocket money to buy colored crayons, booklets and pencils, which she would give out as prizes to the students during Baha'i children’s class. (Baha'i Chronicles)

Arrest and execution

  • Mona Mahmoudnejad was arrested on the evening of 23 October 1982, together with her father. She was imprisoned first at the Sepah Detention Centre and then transferred to Adelabad prison on 28 November 1982, together with five other Baha'i women. (Archives)

  • During the arrest, the guards continued to heap abuse on both Mona and her father, causing her mother Farkhondeh Mahmoudnejad great anguish. At one point her father told his wife not to be worried, that he considered the guards to be his children and Mona their sister, that the guards had been assigned by God to come to their house and take them away together. Mona reassured her mother, saying, “Why do you beg these people? What offense have I committed? Have I been a bad girl? Do we have smuggled goods in the house? They arrest me just because I believe in Baha’u’llah. Mother, this is not going to prison, it is going to Heaven. This is not falling into a pit, it is rising to the moon.” (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • In prison, Mona was held incommunicado for a month. Her mother was finally given permission to take part in weekly family visits starting on 20 November. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center) 

  • The interrogators had subjected her to up to four interrogation sessions in which she was pressured to recant her faith. They also tried to force Mona and other detainees to sign a statement denying the Baha'i Faith’s veracity in order to avoid execution. Trial documents do not contain much information regarding the details of the allegations against Mona. (Tavaana)

  • In January 1983 her mother, Farkhondeh, was instructed by the authorities to present 500,000 tumans for her release. Upon doing so the money was taken and she, too, was arrested and imprisoned in Adelabad prison. Five months later, on 13 June 1983, Farkhondeh was suddenly released. (Archives)

  • Mona’s bail was set initially at about $35,000. Farkhondeh tried to get the court to accept a mortgage on the small apartment that the family owned in Shiraz, but that was not accepted because the family did not have a clear title. Mona was not released. The presiding judge then raised Mona’s bail to about $88,000. But after Farkhondeh had turned the title over to the authorities, Mona was still not released. The authorities took the property anyway and then arrested Farkhondeh when she came to the prison with the documents for Mona’s presumed release. (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • During her detention, Mona was “lashed on the soles of her feet with a cable, and forced to walk on her bleeding feet.” She was transferred to and kept at the Adelabad Prison until her execution. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Mona was executed, on 18 June 1983, together with nine other women. They were executed by hanging in Chowgan-Square in Shiraz. Their bodies were not returned to their families; they were possibly buried in the Baha'i cemetery of Shiraz by the authorities.

  • The hangings of the 10 women took place in the evening of June 18, 1983, under cover of darkness, in a nearby polo field. The driver of the bus, who later met the grandmother of one of the young women, told her, “They were all in the most excellent spirits and were singing many songs on the way. I could not believe that they knew they were going to be executed. I have never seen people in such high spirits.” (Baha'i Chronicles)

  • The authorities did not inform Mona’s family of her execution. Her family learned of the execution accidentally and was not allowed to bury her body. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

Citations

Tavaana includes the text of Mona Manhmudnizad’s will in full.

Roya Eshraghi, 23,
executed along with her mother

Early life and family

  • Born in 1960 in Shiraz, Fars into a Baha'i family. (Archives)

  • Her father Enayatollah Eshraghi (born in 1921) and her mother Ezzat Janami (born in 1926) were both born to Baha'i families in Najafabad in Isfahan province (IranWire)

  • Roya’s father was hired by Iran’s national oil company after finishing his military service. He was first stationed in Bandar Bushehr and spent most of his leaves of absence at his parents’ home in Isfahan. It was during one of these trips that Roya’s parents got to know each other, and were eventually married, in 1947 (IranWire)

  • After her parents had their second child, Roya’s father asked for a transfer; he was sent to Kazeroon in Fars province and in 1957, the family moved to Shiraz and lived in this city for 13 years (IranWire)

  • Roya was the fourth of five children. (IranWire)

  • After moving between a couple of cities, and with Roya getting accepted to Pahlavi University in Shiraz, the Eshraghian moved to the city and lived in a house they had bought in Shiraz the last time that they were there. At this time, three of the children lived abroad, Roya was studying and the parents lived in peace in retirement. (IranWire)

  • After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, her father’s pension was cut and Roya was expelled from university, both because they were Baha'is (IranWire)

  • With the arrest and the execution of Baha'is across Iran, The Eshraghi children living abroad became extremely worried and asked the family to leave Iran (IranWire)

  • But both Roya’s parents and Roya and Rosita (two children living in Iran) were against leaving Iran and wanted stay in solidarity with the rest of Baha'is in the country (IranWire)

Education

  • Roya finished a few years of primary school in Shiraz until her father was transferred to Torbat-e Heydarieh in Khorasan where she completed her primary school education. Her father was later transferred to Mashhad and the family moved to that city (IranWire)

  • In 1978, and after completing high school, Roya was accepted to Pahlavi University in Shiraz to study veterinary medicine. Her father was now retired and he, his wife and their other daughter moved to Shiraz as well (IranWire)

  • Roya was in her third year of study when she and other Baha'i students were expelled for their adherence to the Faith (Archives)

Education and work

Persecution

  • During the Iran-Iraq war, the Eshraghi’s home hosted Baha'i families who had lost everything to war and were homeless. These families lived in the home of Enayatollah Eshraghi until they could find a place of their own and, in the meantime, the Eshraghi family catered to them. These comings and goings attracted attention (IranWire)

  • On Tuesday, 24 November (in another source said to be November 26) 1981 Miss Ishraqi’s home was searched by revolutionary guards and Baha'i books and papers were all confiscated. The next day, the Revolutionary Guards arrested Roya along with her parents, sister and two houseguests. They were detained for two days at the Sepah [Revolutionary Guards headquarters], where they were interrogated before being released on November 27. (Adborrahman Boroumand Center) (IranWire)

Arrest, Imprisonment

  • On 29 November 1982, Roya Eshraghi’s family home was raided and searched for three hours. On this date, Roya and her mother, Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, and father, Enayatollah Eshraghi, were arrested for the second time. (Archives) (Adborrahman Boroumand Center) (IranWire)

  • They were put in a car and were taken to the detention center, while the Revolutionary Guards insulted and abused them (IranWire)

  • Her father was then transferred to the men’s ward and she and her mother to the women’s ward at the Sepah Detention Centre (Archives) (IranWire)

  • Roya was only 22 years old when she was arrested (IranWire)

  • On 4 January 1983, she and her mother were transferred to Adilabad prison, sometime later, her father was also transferred there (Archives)

  • Roya was lively, affectionate and loved animals. She was kind to her fellow inmates regardless of their beliefs or their alleged “crimes” (IranWire)

  • There was a sickly old woman in prison whom they called Mama Maryam. She was charged with murder. Nobody visited her, but Roya went to her cell and took care of her. She fed her and, because she was ill, managed to get her medication. Mama Maryam later recovered and was released after being found innocent of her alleged “crimes” (IranWire)

  • Because of her religious beliefs, the prison authorities considered Roya to be an unbeliever, and thus "unclean" and she was subjected to humiliating treatment similar to that of atheist political prisoners (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Prison wardens refused to have any physical contact with her even when, for example, they were guiding her blindfolded to the interrogation room. In such cases, guards would give her the end of a folded newspaper and hold the other end, avoiding contact (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The Eshraghi family were blindfolded and interrogated together. By humiliating and insulting one member of the family, the interrogators tried to put pressure on other members. They often invented false quotations from one member of the family and told it to another member (IranWire)

  • One day, when Roya was walking in the prison yard, a voice over the loudspeaker summoned her. The guards, who were standing close to her mother Ezzat, spoke in a way that Roya would hear them. They said that her mother had been taken to be whipped. They blindfolded Roya and took her to a room where they kept her for four hours while the interrogator repeatedly came to the room and threatened her with torture and execution. She was told that her parents had renounced [the Baha'i faith] and if she did the same all three of them would be released immediately. But she said that she is a Baha'i and she will not denounce it. The interrogator then threatened to whip her, but she was not flogged during the four hours that she was in that room (IranWire)

  • According to reports by survivors and fellow cellmates, it was said that on 2 December 1982 Roya was subjected to a mock execution (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • On 4 January, 1983 (in another source said to be 31 December 1982) the Eshraghi family and a number of other detainees were transferred from the detention center to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz (Adborrahman Boroumand Center) (IranWire) 

  • The family was investigated during their time in Adelabad Prison. Interrogations were conducted by examining magistrates, but they focused on convincing the detainees to abandon their Baha'i faith (IranWire)

  • At the end of questioning, bail was set for a number of prisoners, including Enayatollah Eshraghi, but he refused to take the bail release. He told them “I have been arrested, along with my wife and my daughter, and without them I do not want to be released. I have only one house to post as collateral and this collateral must be for the release of all three of us” (IranWire)

  • Iranian authorities gave no information to the defendant’s family regarding her trial. However, according to reports by the the Baha'i World, authorities informed the defendant that she would be subjected to four “sessions” in which she would be given the opportunity to recant her faith and accept Islam (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Roya was informed that if she did not sign a prepared statement rejecting her faith, she would be killed and was interrogated and pressured to recant her faith. It is unclear if all these sessions took place and whether or not these sessions replaced a trial (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The text of the indictment was not provided to Roya’s family. However, the available information indicates that the charges against her related to her religious beliefs and activities (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • A cellmate of Roya remembered how she described the trial: “After the indictment was read, [Judge] Hojatoleslam Ghazaei asked me to choose between Islam and a death sentence. I smiled and said that ‘I accept Islam but I am a Baha'i.’ ‘Get lost!’ the judge said angrily. I left, but suddenly I remembered that I had not said goodbye, so I opened the door again and said ‘Sorry, sir, to waste your time. Goodbye!’ Mr. Ghazaei became even angrier and as he was grinding his teeth he said ‘Get out! Out! (IranWire)

  • The judge also discussed at length the charges and the alleged crimes committed by the defendants and argued that they were arrested because they were active members of the Baha'i administration and because of their “direct or indirect” relationship with the House of Justice based in Israel, which follows the Israeli government (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • No information is available on the evidence presented against the defendant or  her relationship with the Israeli government. However, in his February interview the religious judge elaborated on the Baha'i community’s activities and beliefs as the evidence of their guilt (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • No information is available on Miss Ishraqi's defense and Baha'is' requests to access their files are usually denied (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • On 12 June, 1983, Chief Prosecutor Hojatoleslam Mir Emad visited Baha'i prisoners and told them that “Your repentance starts tomorrow. You have to go through four phases of guidance to convert to Islam; otherwise you will be executed.” The “guidance” sessions started the day after: but the Baha'is signed testimonies that they refused to repent and to change religion (IranWire)

  • Roya was allowed to see her father who was also in custody, once before her execution (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

Execution

  • Two days prior to Roya’s and her mother’s execution, her father, aged 62, was executed by hanging, together with five other believers on 16 June 1983 (IranWire) (IranWire)

  • Two days later, during a visit at 5pm on 18 June, Ezzat Janami and Roya learned that Enayatollah had been executed. On their way back to the ward, this mother and daughter, and eight other Baha'i women, were separated from other prisoners and were put on a minibus. In the evening of the same day, these 10 Baha'i women were hanged in Chogan Square. At the time, Ezzat Janami was 57 and her daughter Roya Eshraghi was 23 (IranWire) (IranWire)

  • Roya was forced to watch as the other women were hanged and when her turn came, she was given a final chance to recant her faith and when she refused to do so, she too was hanged (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The authorities did not inform Miss Eshraqi’s family of her execution. Her family learned of the execution accidentally and was not allowed to bury her body (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The authorities probably buried her along with the other executed Baha'is in the Baha'i cemetery of Shiraz, without washing her or observing any other burial custom (Adborrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Nahid Eshraghi, Roya’s sister, whose father, mother and young sister were executed says “The news that my family, all three of them, have been executed together, was like my head had suddenly been hit with a sledgehammer. I could not eat for days. My body rejected everything and I was in total shock. But today, I feel better, because my family stood by their beliefs until the last moment of their lives and taught me, their children and thousands of others, to never submit to tyranny and injustice, even if one has to pay with their lives. Great causes demand great sacrifices” (IranWire)

Four months later, the Revolutionary Court ordered the confiscation of Eshraghi home. Their remaining daughter appealed: without success. In 1992, this house and few others around it were razed to the ground and the land was put on sale by the Mostazafan Foundation (a charitable foundation). Currently a multi-story residential building – called the “Delta” building – stands on the confiscated land of Eshraghi family (IranWire)

Simin Saberi, 24

Early life and family

  • Simin was born on 2 March 1959 in Dolat Abad, Fars into a Baha'i family (Archives)

  • Her father, Hossein, was from a Muslim background but had adopted the Baha'i faith through personal investigation (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • Her mother, Tavoos Pompusian, was from a Jewish background but her father, and her mother’s parents, had independently investigated and accepted the Baha’i Faith (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”) (BahaiLibrary.com) (CelebsAgeWiki)

  • Simin's father was a widower when he married her mother and had two sons and four daughters by his first marriage. Simin was the youngest of the five children born of the new union (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”) (BahaiLibrary.com) (CelebsAgeWiki)

  • During her childhood, to promote the Baha'i Faith, her family lived as pioneers in various cities in Iran (Archives)

Education

  • Simin graduated from high school in Shiraz (Archives)

  • After completing high school she studied typewriting and acquired other secretarial skills (BahaiLibrary.com)

Work and Baha'i activities

  • She was employed by an agricultural corporation in Marvdasht, Fars due to her acquired skills (Archives) (CelebsAgeWiki)

  • After the Islamic Revolution she was dismissed from her job for being a Baha'i (Archives)

  • Simin was a kind and loving person and with her friends she used to visit the “Darol Majanin”  (mental hospital) to see the children and help cleaning and bathing the girls (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • Simin also helped her mother with tailoring (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”) (Wikipedia)

  • She had been a member of the Baha’i Education Committee in Shiráz, responsible for the continuing education of Baha’is about their Faith and its Writings, and she was the youngest assistant to a member of the Auxiliary Board (Archives) (BahaiLibrary.com)

Persecution

  • On the night of Dec 16, 1978, when many houses of the Baha'is were set on fire in Shiraz and its surroundings, in the middle of the night, some people gathered near the wall of the house were Simin was living with her family and started throwing stones inside the house so that all the windows were broken and the electricity was cut off by the attackers. The family members were without shoes and proper clothes and were forced to run away from home and, ultimately, to Tehran. After a month, when they returned to Shiraz, they learned that their house had been confiscated (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • Although Simin was injured by broken glass, she remained cheerful throughout the incident (BahaiLibrary.com)

Arrest

  • Simin was arrested at her home in Shiraz on 24 October 1982 (Archives)

  • She was arrested when she returned home that evening and found that the Revolutionary Guards were already waiting for her (IHRDC)

  • On the day of arrest, some people attacked their house, put their books and photos in four sacks while arresting Simin and taking her to prison in her brother's car (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • She was initially held at the Sepah Detention Centre and was then transferred to Adilabad prison (Archives)

  • The charges against Simin as well as the prosecution proceedings appear not to have been published. According to the representatives of the Baha'i community, the main reason for her arrest and trial was because she was a Baha'i. Simin faced sixteen charges, ranging from being Baha’i to her participation in organizing Baha'i community activities, to being unmarried and refusing to recant (Wikipedia) (IHRDC)

Imprisonment

  • Simin was happy and smiling even in prison and she was held in a 1.5m by 2m prison cell with two other people (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • During the interrogations, she would constantly try to refute the accusations and correct the misinformation of her interrogators. Throughout her imprisonment she remained strong and resilient, and did not yield to sorrow, but comforted and encouraged the other believers (BahaiLibrary.com)

  • A Baha'i who was imprisoned with her has written, “Simin was radiant, courageous and swift-thinking. Her whole being was suffused with love of Baha’u’llah, and she had a happy and smiling face. Even in prison she did not stop smiling. She was a symbol of absolute detachment, a true lover of the spiritual path and aflame with a desire to serve the Cause of God." (BahaiLibrary.com)

  • Simin and her fellow inmates practiced in the prison to recite a prayer from Abdu'l-Bahá so they could read it before their martyrdom and kiss the hand of the murderer and the hanging rope and rush happily towards their execution (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • Simin's mother narrates that when she went to visit her in prison for the last time, Simin told her: "Mother, be content with God's will." And then she asked three times: Are you content and satisfied? Her mother, Tavoos, nodded in agreement (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • Simin always pleaded with her family to recognize that she was content with the will of God and prayed that they would be able to reconcile themselves to separation from her (BahaiLibrary.com)

Execution

  • Simin has been described as one of the most fearless of the group of women who were martyred together (BahaiLibrary.com)

  • She was executed by hanging on 18 June 1983, in Chowgan Square in Shiraz, together with nine other Baha'i women (Archives)

  • She was executed at the age of 24 (Andalib magazine, “24 Fall 1366”)

  • Her body along with the other 9 Baha'i woman was not returned to her family; and was possibly buried in the Baha'i cemetery in Shiraz by the authorities (Archives)

Akhtar Sabet, 25

Early life

  • She was born in 1958–59 in the town of Sarvestan in the south of Fars Province (Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran; Iran Wire; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Dar Gozar-e TarikhTelegram; Payam-e Haq; Baha'i Instruction website, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • In December 1978, Sarvestan’s Baha'is were attacked by a group of Sarvestan residents, who had been instigated by revolutionary religious clerics to put pressure on Baha'is to reject their faith. The family home and business were set on fire and their possessions were pillaged. This attack caused Baha'i families, including Akhtar’s, to move from Sarvestan to Shiraz. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran; Iran Wire; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Dar Gozar-e TarikhTelegram; Payam-e Haq; Baha'i Instruction website, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • On November 18, 1978, as Muslims marked the anniversary of the Ghadir Khumm, when the Prophet Mohammad delivered a sermon at the Pond of Khumm, a group attacked Baha'i businesses and set them on fire, provoked by several clerics in the city. Akhtar’s family and many other Baha'is traveled to Shiraz from Sarvestan at night, but Akhtar Sabet did not join her family. The attacks intensified, with groups of people attacking Baha'i homes and destroying their belongings. That night, Akhtar had no choice but to join her family in Shiraz. (Uplifiting Words Blog)

  • She spent her childhood in poverty; she also worked in the last two years of high school in order to make money and help out in the family’s expenses. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran; Iran Wire; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Dar Gozar-e TarikhTelegram; Payam-e Haq; Baha'i Instruction website, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

Education and work

  • Akhtar went to school in Sarvestan until 9th grade and subsequently moved to Shiraz where she obtained her high school diploma. In high school and college, she would spend time to make sure her fellow students were making progress in their academic studies. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran; Iran Wire; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Dar Gozar-e TarikhTelegram; Payam-e Haq; Baha'i Instruction website, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • She had an associate degree from Shiraz’ Nursing Education Center. Ms. Sabet Sarvestani worked as a nurse at the children’s wing of Sa’di Hospital. She liked the nursing profession and she would work at the hospital as a replacement for her colleagues who were on leave. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran; Iran Wire; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Dar Gozar-e TarikhTelegram; Payam-e Haq; Baha'i Instruction website, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • After and because of the Cultural Revolution in 1980, she was forced to drop out of school and was expelled from the university along with other Baha'i students. Shiraz University refused to give her a post-graduate degree. (Uplifiting Words Blog)

Family

Baha'i activities

Arrest, trial and execution

  • Akhtar was arrested at her family’s home in Shiraz on the night of October 22, or 23, 1982, and was detained at the city’s Revolutionary Guards detention center. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution; Adelabad Prison’s visitation card; “Olya’s Story”; Andalib Magazine; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Payam-e Haq, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center). 

  • Ms. Sabet Sarvestani endured severe physical and psychological torture during her detention because she was a member of the elected Baha'i administration. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution; Adelabad Prison’s visitation card; “Olya’s Story”; Andalib Magazine; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Payam-e Haq, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The section of the Prison where they lived was humid and moldy. Ms. Sabet Sarvestani had a good voice and would recite Monajat (Baha'i prayer) every morning and would prepare the necessities for her ward mates’ breakfast. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution; Adelabad Prison’s visitation card; “Olya’s Story”; Andalib Magazine; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Payam-e Haq, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Akhtar and her cellmates were considered “unclean” because they were Baha'i, and were treated in a demeaning manner. For instance, she and 25 of her ward mates were given only a single small wash tub to wash their clothes. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution; Adelabad Prison’s visitation card; “Olya’s Story”; Andalib Magazine; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Payam-e Haq, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • In addition to providing [medical] treatment to her ward mates, she helped them in washing their clothes or performing their daily tasks while in prison. (Archives of Baha'i Persecution; Adelabad Prison’s visitation card; “Olya’s Story”; Andalib Magazine; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube; Payam-e Haq, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Following Akhtar’s arrest, the hospital administration, loathe to lose her services, entreated the government to release her, but the government refused to do so unless she agreed to give up her Faith. She would not. (bahaiteachings.org)

  • The authorities gave Ms. Sabet Sarvestani numerous opportunities to reject her religion and convert to Islam. The Judge and the Revolutionary prosecutor both gave Ms. Sabet Sarvestani an ultimatum that she would be executed if she did not “repent”. (Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper, Feb 12, 1983; “Olya’s Story”; Iran Wire; Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center).

  • Akhtar was charged with “being a Baha'i”, “membership in the Baha'i organization”, and “being single” (which is not a crime in Iranian law). (“Olya’s Story”; Payam-e Haq website; Baha'i Instruction website, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center) 

  • Charges: “direct or indirect” contact with “The House of Justice”  headquartered in Israel which follows [the dictates of] the State of Israel. (Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper, February 12, and 22, 1983, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Charges: “pursuant to Principle Thirteen of the Constitution, any activity by the Baha'is is unconstitutional, and organizing and establishing Assemblies, “Lajne” (“committees”), Parties, and the like, are all crimes.” (Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper, February 12, and 22, 1983, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • In mid-February 1983, the Shiraz Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Ms. Akhtar Sabet Sarvestani and 21 other individuals to death. The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. The authorities did not inform Ms. Sabet Sarvestani’s family of the Court’s decision. In justifying the sentence, however, the Head of the Shiraz Islamic Revolutionary Court stated in an interview with Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper: “It is a clear and unquestionable fact that there is not the slightest room for Baha'ism and Baha'is in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He labeled the individuals sentenced to death as “Koffar Herabi” or “unclean”. As a result of the publication of this interview, the families of the prisoners went to see the Fars Province Friday Prayer Imam and the Province Governor, as well as the authorities in the capital, to make sure the news was accurate. (Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper, February 22, 1983, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • On June 18, 1983, Ms. Akhtar Sabet Sarvestani, along with the other Baha'i women, was transferred to Shiraz’ Abdollah Mesgar military base, better known as Chogan (“Polo”) Square and forced to witness the hanging of other women. When it was her turn, she was given one last chance to reject her religion. She refused, and she too was hanged. (The Times newspaper, June 21, 1983; Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center).

  • Referring to her own death sentence, Akhtar assured her compatriots, “Never mind, I am not worried. Whatever happens, I am content with the will of God.” And to the interrogator who asked, “Even at the expense of your life do you intend to remain firm in your belief?” she responded, “I hope so, by the grace of God.” (bahaiteachings.org)

  • Akhtar Sabet Sarvestani was 25 years old at the time of her execution. The guards let her family see her body, but they refused to let the family take the body for burial. Her place of burial is unknown. (Uplifiting Words Blog)

Citations

  • Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper (February 12, and February 22, 1983); 

  • The New York Times (May 22, 1983); 

  • Sahifeye Imam (“The Imam’s Book”), Volume 17 (May 28, 1983); 

  • Baha'i World Almanac, Volume 18, 1979-1983 (Haifa, 1986); 

  • Shiraz’ Adelabad Prison’s visitation card (1983); 

  • an account of events as published in “A Tribute to the Faithful” by Mah Mehr Golestaneh (1992); 

  • the book “Olya’s Story” written by Olya Ruhizadegan, Andalib Magazine (Winter 1988); 

  • the Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran (undated); 

  • Morteza Esmailipur’s YouTube Channel (January 26, 2016; June 15, and July 6, 2016); 

  • Martyrs of the Baha'i Religion website (undated); 

  • Dar Gozar-e Tarikh (“Throughout History”) Telegram Channel (June18, 2019); 

  • and the Report of the United States Congressional Hearing published in the World Order Magazine (Winter 1983-1984); 

  • Baha'i Instruction website (June 12, 2017); 

  • Payam-e Haq website, the Baha'i faith’s messenger service, library, and information provider (21 July 2018).

Mahshid Niroumand, 28

Early life, family 

  • Mahshid was born on December 9th 1955, Sarvestan, Iran (Archives)

Education, work, Baha'i activities

  • Mahshid was a top student and spent the last three years of her secondary education at an elite high school that accepted students only if they passed an entrance exam. (IranWire)

  • Mahshid graduated with a degree in physics from Shiraz University and had diplomas in three languages of English, German and French. (Archives)

  • After her graduation, Mahshid privately taught physics and chemistry to make a living. She could not get a steady job because of the fact that she did not have her university degree certificate, because of discrimination as explained below. (IranWire)

  • Mahshid had served as a youth advisor and as a member of a number of Bahá`í service committees. She was also an assistant to an Auxiliary Board member, and she taught Baha'i children’s classes (BahaiLibrary.com) (Archives)

Arrest 

  • Mahshid was arrested on the evening of 29 November 1982 at her family home. She was taken to the Sepah [Revolutionary Guards] Detention Centre, where she was detained during December and interrogated and subjected to torture. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • When the agents arrived at the Niroumand home, they came to arrest Mahshid who introduced herself and joyfully started to gather her clothing. The agents, who were perplexed by Mahshid’s joyful behavior, cut the phone line, left the house, returned a few minutes later and asked Mahshid and her two sisters which of them had studied physics. Mahshid answered that it was her. After this exchange, they arrested Mahshid and put her in a car. (IranWire)

Arrest, Imprisonment, Execution

  • Mahshid graduated from university after 1979 and the Islamic revolution, and the university refused to issue Mahshid’s degree under the pretext that she owed tuition, before the Revolution, owing tuition did not disqualify anyone from graduation. Mahshid paid the demanded sum but the university still refused to give Mahshid her degree. She repeatedly went to the Ministry of Higher Education and the National Organization of Educational Testing but never received a clear answer as to why she was not being awarded her degree. Some officials only told her verbally that the university could not issue a degree to Baha'is. (IranWire)

  • Throughout her long imprisonment she was strong, steadfast, and concerned for others, often sharing her food with her fellow prisoners and encouraging them to be staunch. She was, by nature, sensitive although she was a lioness in the strength of her faith, she had a calm and soothing disposition, and a dignified bearing. (BahaiLibrary.com)

  • Mahshid might have been shy but when her faith was involved she was brave, candid and knowledgeable. During the interrogations, she not only refused to denounce her faith, she also refused to name other Baha'is. (IranWire)

  • Olya, a cellmate of Mahshid in prison, writes that the interrogations of Mahshid were long, sometimes lasting 12 to 14 hours. (IranWire)

On June 18, 1983, at visitations with loved ones, the imprisoned Baha'i women including Mahshid, saw their families for the last time. “Mahshid came to the meeting with a smile on her face, as she always did,” says Mahshid’s sister Mitra. “She said that, the previous week, the prosecutor had come to the prison and had told the Baha'is that each one of them would be given four ‘Guidance’ sessions and that anyone who converted to Islam would be released. Otherwise they would be executed. Mahshid said that ‘I was taken to the guidance session and I said that, according to my religious beliefs, I believe in all prophets and Imams. But I believe in the Baha'i faith and I believe that it is the next step in the evolutionary process of religions. I will not abandon my faith.’ She confirmed this answer in writing, signing four times, at the end of the session with the prosecutor.” (IranWire)

Zarrin Moghimi-Abyaneh, 29

Early life and family 

  • Zarrin was born on the 23rd of August 1954 in the village of Abyaneh in the Central District of Natanz County, Isfahan Province. (IranWire)

  • From as young as 5 years old, she would recite clearly and with expression portions of the Baha'i writings and poems about the Baha'i Faith (World Order, 1986)

  • Zarrin had a pure and innocent heart, and she was enamored by the Baha'i Faith (World Order, 1986)

Education, work, Baha'i activities

  • At 15 years old, Zarrin began teaching Baha'i classes and would express deeply the stories of those who had been killed for their belief in the Baha'i faith, teaching her students of the lives of the victims. (World Order, 1986)

  • Zarrin graduated with a degree in English Literature from Tehran University at 21 (Archives)

  • Zarrin worked as a translator at a petrochemical plant in Marvdasht and later Shiraz following her studies and after the commencement of the Iranian Revolution, she was dismissed from her job for her adherence to the Faith. (Archives)

  • Before Zarrin was arrested, she spent her time teaching Baha'i children and teenagers, giving comfort to the families of those Baha'is who had been imprisoned or executed, and helping others who had lost their homes or been displaced. (IranWire)

  • Not long before her execution, Zarrin was selected as an assistant for other Baha'is, and she visited those who were imprisoned. At the same time she was teaching three different classes. She was a member of the Youth Committee and the Publication Committee. (World Order, 1986)

Arrest

  • Zarrin displayed great courage. She was ready anywhere to defend the Faith and to prove its truth. When she was arrested, she documented the veracity of the Baha'i Faith in the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, in a clear, full voice and using powerful language. (World Order, 1986)

  • The situation in Iran in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution alarmed relatives of Baha'is who lived outside Iran. Simin, Zarrin’s sister, called from abroad and advised her to leave the country. “Don’t say this,” Zarrin replied. “Much needs to be done but time is short and there is not enough manpower. Whatever happens to other Baha'is will happen to me as well. My life is not more valuable than their lives. I will never leave this country.” (IranWire)

Arrest, Imprisonment, Execution

  • One of Zarrin's college friends, who was a Christian, wrote after Zarrin's martyrdom that ''The only solace for her friends and loved ones is this: to remember that dear Zarrin was devoted in her faith to God and that she attained her lifelong goal, which was a consuming pursuit and desire throughout her short life's journey." (World Order, 1986)

  • By the order of the prosecutor, each Baha'i had to repent four times. If they refused, they were executed or, as the authorities put it, the “divine verdict” was carried out. Zarrin was the second prisoner from the women’s ward who was taken to repent. On June 13, 1983, she was summoned four times, each time half an hour apart, to repent; each time Zarrin wrote, “I am a Baha'i.” (IranWire)

  • One friend, after being freed, wrote the following description of one of Zarrin 's trials: Zarrin, throughout the series of interrogations and trials, testified with infinite strength and courage. She confessed her belief in the truth of the religions of the past as well as her belief in Baha'u'llah, the New Manifestation, and His Cause. During these trials, the knowledge and scholarliness she displayed were so comprehensive that the judges were intimidated because of their own inadequacies. (World Order, 1986)

  • Zarrin had become known to the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz as a prominent propagator of the Baha'i religion; she was unafraid of any peril. She realized that she was willing to take the ultimate risk. Truly she did not lose her life; she won eternal life. (World Order, 1986)

Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavashi, 30.
Her husband, Jamshid Siavashi,
was executed two days earlier.

Early life

  • Born in 1953 in Tehran. 

Education and work

  • Tahereh completed her diploma with honors in Tehran and married Jamshid Siavashi a few months later, in 1972, after which the couple moved to the village of Chendar, near Tehran. (Uplifting Words)

  • She registered to take the University of Tehran Faculty of Nursing exam. She was also told she was eligible to take an exam for students wanting to go abroad to study, and plans were made for her to travel to the United States. However, she decided to stay in Iran and continue her studies at the University of Tehran. She traveled to Tehran once or twice a week to attend classes. (Uplifting Words)

  • She worked as a nurse and was highly regarded during her service at Yasouj Hospital where was selected as "model nurse of the year.” (Uplifting Words)

  • Tahereh Arjomandi initially worked at Fatehinejad Hospital in Shiraz but was fired after a year, at a time when the Ministry of Health began to expel Baha'is on a large scale. She was then employed at the private Dr. Mir Hospital, where she worked for about three years. Her brother, who lived in the United States, insisted that Tahereh Arjomandi and her husband should immigrate to the United States to save their lives. But they refused, and she wrote to her brother that she wanted to serve her compatriots in her home country. (Uplifting Words)

Family

  • In late 1978, a group of people stormed her husband's workplace, looting and destroying the shop. Subsequently, Tahereh Arjomandi was, again, fired for following the Baha'i faith. A few days later, the city's police chief, who knew her husband Jamshid Siavashi, told them on the phone that a group of local people, with the support and instigation of a cleric, were planning to storm their home at night and force them to convert to Islam after looting their place. He was told that the police would not intervene. In the middle of the night, the couple left for Shiraz to start a new life in that city. (Uplifting Words)

Baha'i activities

Arrest and execution

  • On October 23, 1982, security forces raided the couple’s home and arrested Jamshid Siavashi. Forty days later, on December 1, Tahereh was also arrested. (Uplifting Words)

  • There have been no reports of Tahereh Arjomandi enduring physical torture to convert to Islam, but during visits from her family, she talked of psychological torture. For example, she was told that her husband had become Muslim and that she should do the same; other times she was told her husband had been tortured to death. She was even taken to Jamshid's interrogation room to witness the pressure on, and torture of her husband. (Uplifting Words)

  • Tahereh used her training to care for other prisoners during her imprisonment. (source?)

  • Ms. Arjomandi had been interrogated and put under pressure to deny her faith during her detention. Furthermore, according to an interview published in Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper, the Shari’a judge adjudicating the case who was the head of the Shiraz Islamic Revolutionary Court, had warned Baha'is “to take refuge in the arms of dearest Islam… and to reject Baha'ism which is intellectually and logically damned [and void].” (Andalib Magazine; Khabar-e Jonoob newspaper, February 22, 1983, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • When the prison authorities brought the Baha'i prisoners together in February, Tahereh saw her husband for the first time since their arrest. He had been so badly beaten that she could barely recognize him. She could not sleep that night. The prison authorities did not believe he would last the night and the guards felt so sorry for him that they asked Tahirih to take him some fruit. But he was unable to eat it. He recovered, somewhat, only to be hanged two days before her. When Tahirih knew that she would also be executed, she told her family that she was relieved and happy. (Bahai-Library.com)

Two days after her husband Jamshid’s execution, Tahereh was hanged in Chogan Square in Shiraz, at the age of 30, along with nine other Baha'i women on charges of religious dissidence and following the Baha'i faith. The bodies of those executed were not given to their families and the location of their graves is unknown. (Uplifting Words)

Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46.
Her son, Bahram Yaldaie, was executed two days earlier.


Education and work

Family

Baha'i activities

Arrest, trial and execution

  • Mrs. Yalda'i was arrested on the evening of 23 October 1982 by revolutionary guards who entered her home about ten minutes after members of a Baha'i committee, to which her son belonged, had left the premises. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • After the guards searched their home, collected and removed Baha'i and other books and documents, she, along with her son, husband and her Baha'i neighbor were arrested and taken to the Sepah Detention Centre, where she was humiliated and tortured. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • She was subjected to humiliating treatments and being considered "unclean" because of her religious beliefs, the prison authorities refused to have any physical contact with her. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • During her initial interrogation on 25 October 1982, she was asked about the names of other members of the Local Assembly. After refusing to submit information about fellow Baha'is, she was taken to the basement of the prison by a female guard, who removed some of her clothes, tied her to a bed facing down, and instructed a guard to flog her while the female guard verbally abused her, and the interrogator stood next to the bed holding on to her file. During that episode, she received 50 lashes on her back and 50 on her feet (Olya's Story, p. 122). (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • During her detention, she was repeatedly asked to denounce her faith publicly and urge other Baha'is to return to Islam. As she refused to do so, she was beaten as many as 200 lashes twice. According to reports by former cellmates, weeks after she was subjected to such treatment, sore spots and open wounds were still visible (World Order, p. 27). (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • While in custody, Ms. Yalda’i faced psychological abuse by various methods including sleep deprivation. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • She was kept in solitary confinement for 55 days with very limited personal hygiene privileges. On 15 January 1983, Mrs. Yalda'i was transferred to Adelabad Prison where she remained in custody until her execution. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • In an interview published in the Newspaper Khabar-e Jonub the religious judge, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Shiraz, in charge of the case, warned the Baha'is “to embrace dear Islam and …recant Baha'ism, which is rationally and logically doomed, before it is too late”. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Charges discussed by the judge: active members of the Baha'i administration and because of their “direct or indirect” relationship with the House of Justice based in Israel, which “follows the Israeli government”. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • Charges based on Article 13 of the constitution, which “deems illegal any activity for Baha'is and considers a crime the organization of committees, councils, or receptions and any such activities…”  (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, 57,
along with her daughter Roya, 23.
Her husband, Enayatullah Eshraghi
was executed two days earlier.

Early life

  • Born in 1926 in Najafabad, Isfahan province.

Family

  • She completed high school and later married Enayatollah Eshraghi in 1948.  She had four children.  After her husband’s retirement, the family settled in Shiraz.

  • The family home became a shelter for other Baha'is made homeless by the persecutions of the Baha'is during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (BahaiTeachings.org)

Baha'i activities

  • Ezzat and her husband Enayat were encouraged by those of their daughters who were living abroad, at the time of the Revolution, to leave the country as their lives were in danger. But the couple was against leaving: they wanted to stay to help the Baha'i community cope with the pressures and persecutions it was facing. (IranWire)

Arrest, trial, execution

  • Mrs Eshragi’s daughter Ruzita was engaged to be married on the same day as her father Enayat’s execution. Ruzita visited Ezzat Eshraghi in prison, as well as her sister Roya, who had also been detained, to tell them the news. (BahaiTeachings.org)

  • On 29 November 1982 [IranWire gives the date 29 November, based on the daughter Nahid’s interview], their home was raided and she and Enayatollah and their daughter Roya were arrested.  They were imprisoned at the Sepah Detention Centre.  On 4 January 1983, she and Roya were transferred to Adilabad prison. Sometime later, Enayatollah was transferred there.  On 16 June 1983, Enayatollah was executed by hanging, together with five other believers. Two days later, on 18 June 1983 she and Roya were executed by hanging, together with Simin Ṣaberi, Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavushi, Mona Mahmoudnejad, Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, Akhtar Sabet, Zarrin Moghimi. Their bodies were not returned to their families and it is believed they were buried in the Baha'i cemetery of Shiraz by the authorities. Two days before their execution, on 16 June 1983, Enayatollah Eshraghi was also hanged, along with five other Baha'is. (Archives)

  • Ezzat Eshraghi and her family were abused in prison with both physical and mental torture. One form of pressure they faced came when their interrogators would tell them that their loved ones, who were in the same prison at the same time, had recanted and denounced their faith during their detentions. The claims were untrue: it was a tactic used to try to break the morale of each jailed member of the Eshraghi family. (IranWire)

  • The Eshraghi family home was confiscated four months after the execution of Ezzat and her husband and daughter, despite the appeals of the surviving daughter, and in 1992 it was razed to the ground.

Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25

Early life

  • Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand was born into a Baha'i family on 25 December 1957.

  • Shirin loved flowers, and when she was free a single blossom or a green leaf could always be found in her room. She also loved the ocean and visited the beach as often as possible. (BahaiTeachings.org)

Education and work

  • She studied sociology at the University of Shiraz. In 1979, while in her final year of university, her family moved to the United Kingdom. She remained in Iran with her grandmother to complete her degree. After graduating she chose not to leave Iran. (Archives)

Baha'i activities

  • Shahin was a member of Youth and Baha'i Education Committees and a Local Spiritual Assembly liaison in Shiraz. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

Arrest and execution

  • Shahin was arrested on 29 November 1982 during a Baha'i youth meeting, while having dinner at the home of a fellow Baha'i named Rouhi Jahanpour.  She and the others arrested were taken to the Sepah Detention Centre. Over a month later she was transferred to Adelabad prison. (Archives) (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • She and her hostess were taken to a Revolutionary Guards Detention Centre where on 2 December 1982 she suffered a mock execution as part of her initial processing and interrogation. Prison authorities considered her to be an unbeliever, and thus "unclean”, and she was subjected to humiliating treatment similar to that of atheist political prisoners. Prison wardens refused to have any physical contact with the prisoner even when, for example, they were guiding the blindfolded prisoner to the interrogation room. In such cases guards would give her the end of a folded newspaper and hold the other end, avoiding contact. She was eventually transferred to Adelabad prison, where due to the difficult detention conditions she contracted a cold and kidney infection. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • On 26 December 1982 she faced her first interrogation session. A few days later she was again interrogated and was told that she could be freed in exchange for a bond of 400,000 tumans—soon raised to 800,000 tumans. When her grandmother presented the required amount to the authorities she was told that the defendant’s file had already been sent to the Religious Magistrate for final review and trial. According to reports by the Baha'i World, authorities informed the defendant that she would be subjected to four “sessions” in which she would be given the opportunity to recant her faith and accept Islam. She was informed that if she did not sign a prepared statement rejecting the Baha'i Faith, she would be killed. It is unclear if all these sessions took place and whether or not these sessions replaced a trial. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • One of Shahin’s friends remembered a day in the prison when they were having a meal together, and Shahin told them that it was her birthday, and that the year before her mother had given her a beautiful new dress as a birthday gift, and that this year her gift was to be a prisoner for Baha’u’llah. Each of her friends took a little morsel of food and placed it in Shirin’s mouth, and thus celebrated her birthday. (Persecution of the Baha'i Community of Iran, 1983-1986, compiled on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, in Baha'i World, Volume 19, p. 182; BahaiTeachings.org)

  • The text of the indictment was not provided to Shirin’s family. However, the available information indicates that the charges against the defendant related to her religious beliefs. While in detention, she was interrogated and pressured to recant her faith. Further, in an interview published in the Newspaper Khabar-e Jonub the religious judge, Head of the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal of Shiraz, in charge of the case, warned the Baha'is “to embrace dear Islam and …recant Baha'ism, which is rationally and logically doomed, before it is too late.” (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The judge also discussed at length the charges and the alleged crimes committed by the defendants and argued that they were arrested because they were active members of the Baha'i administration and because of their “direct or indirect” relationship with the House of Justice based in Israel, which follows the Israeli government. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

  • The judge’s statements regarding those arrested also stressed that the religious activities of the defendants were criminal activities based on Article 13 of the constitution, which “deems illegal any activity for Baha'is and considers a crime the organization of committees, councils, or receptions and any such activities…” (Abdorrahman Boroumand Center)

Shahin was executed by hanging on 18 June 1983 in Chowgan-Square in Shiraz, aged 27, together with nine other Baha'i women. Their bodies were not returned to their families; they were possibly buried in the Baha'i cemetery of Shiraz by the authorities. (Archives)