Iranian authorities separate Baha'i parents from their children with Shiraz sentences

New York, July 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A campaign by Iranian authorities to uproot the Baha'i community in Shiraz took a dark step forward, earlier in June, when Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced 26 Baha'is to a combined total of 85 years in prison. Each individual was sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years. Travel bans and orders to report daily to a provincial intelligence office were also issued. A number of the Baha'is also received in addition a combined total of 24 years of internal exile—with the individual banishments set for two years. Many of the 26 sentenced to prison are couples with young children. "How can parents care for their young children when they are being unjustly imprisoned?" said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "Separating children from parents is inhumane and designed to torment and destroy Iran's Baha'i community. And just as these parents have a responsibility to their children, so too does Iran's government, to all its citizens and in particular its children. The government is committing a gross injustice against these children by separating them from their parents." Each of ... Full story available on Benzinga.com