RFERL:

Iranian intelligence agents have stepped up their harassment of the Baha’i religious minority with a slew of arrests over the last few months, according to an October 16 report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In August and September alone, more than 20 Baha’i were arrested across the country, according to HRW

The Baha’i faith is not recognized as an official religion in the Islamic Republic, and security agents routinely detain Baha’is, often without charges. Baha’is are prohibited from attending university or holding public office, they cannot worship openly, and their cemeteries and other cultural landmarks are demolished when discovered.

More than 90 percent of Iranians associate themselves with Shi’a Islam, the official state religion, according to the CIA World Fact Book. Around five to ten percent identify with the Sunni and Sufi branches of Islam, and a very small sliver of the population identify with non-Islamic religious minorities, among them Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians. The latter three minority religions are officially recognized in Iran, but other beliefs, including Baha'ism, with an estimated 300-350 thousand followers inside Iran, are derided by the regime as a “deviant sect,” and are accused of heresy, apostasy, and conspiracy against the Islamic establishment.

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