Fariba Kamalabadi

Detained: July 31, 2022
Charges: “Forming and leading groups to act against national security.”
Sentence: Ten years in prison.
Biography: Fariba Kamalabadi is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On July 31, 2022, security forces arrested Kamalabadi in Tehran after raiding her home.
Kamalabadi has previously been imprisoned for her religious leadership role and was rearrested on the same day as two other Baha'i advocates who had previously been part of the Baha'i Seven.
On May 14, 2008, authorities arrested Kamalabadi and several other Baha'i religious leaders specifically for their roles as religious leaders. They were all part of a group called “Yaran-i-Iran” or “Friends in Iran."
In January 2010, it was reported that Kamalabadi's trial had begun and that she had been charged with "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." United for Iran lists the charges as "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC), "assembling and colluding to act against national security"(Art. 610 IPC), “cooperating…with foreign States against the Islamic Republic of Iran” (Art. 508 IPC), "committing corruption on Earth" (Art. 286 IPC), and "founding or leading an organization that aims to disrupt national security" (Art. 498 IPC).
In August 2010, it was reported that Kamalabadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In September 2010, it was reported that Kamalabadi's sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison after an appeals court reportedly dropped the "espionage" charges. In March 2011, it was reported that another appeals court had upheld Kamalabadi's original 20-year sentence. On an unspecified date, Kamalabadi's sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison based on Article 134 of Iran's Penal Code.
On October 31, 2017, Kamalabadi was released from prison after completing her sentence.
Kamalabadi is a developmental psychologist and is married with children.
Advocate: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
Advocacy Partner: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Updates:
- On November 21, 2022, after a trial which lasted approximately one hour, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet were sentenced to ten years in prison (December 11, 2022, Voice of America).
- On December 22, 2022, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published a statement condemning the sentencing of Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet (December 10, 2022, USCIRF).
- On February 17, 2023, Front Line Defenders released a statement welcoming the release of hundreds of Iranian prisoners pardoned by the Supreme Leader of Iran on February 4, and called on Iran to release human rights defenders who had not been pardoned including Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Afif Naeimi (February 17, 2023, Front Line Defenders).
- Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet participated in a virtual symposium held on April 21 and 22, 2023, titled "How to Save Iran" along side "more than 40" activists within and outside of Iran, including six others who are in prison. The two women contributed to the second panel (April 24, 2023, Iran Wire).
- As a result of her contribution to the April 2023 "How to Save Iran" event through a letter, Fariba Kamalabadi was barred from receiving visitors for three weeks (May 15, 2023, Iran Wire).
- On May 22, 2023, International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance Chair Fiona Bruce, a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, released a statement expressing "grave concern" over the continued imprisonment of Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, and called on Iran to release "any unfairly detained members of the Baha'i community" and ensure those in prison receive "proper treatment" while in custody (May 22, 2023, U.S. Department of State).
- To commemborate the first anniversary of Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet's arrest, a group of 45 Iranian women, comprised of their friends and fellow human rights defenders, dedicated a poem to the two women, which was published by Narges Mohammadi via Instagram (August 3, 2023, Iran Press Watch)
- On August 10, 2023, it was reported that the Tehran Court of Appeals had upheld Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet's ten year prison sentences (August 10, 2023, Iran Wire).
- In recognition of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death on September 16, 2023, Front Line Defenders released a statement calling for the release of all human rights defenders in Iran, including Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Narges Mohammadi (September 14, 2023, Front Line Defenders).
On November 8, 2023, Fariba Kamalabadi shared a letter from prison condemning the harassment of Baha’is in Iran, after learning her home had been raided by the authorities (November 14, 2023, Iran Wire).
On November 28, 2023, Fariba Kamalabadi joined Mahvash Sabet, Narges Mohammadi, and 11 other inmates at Evin Prison in signing a letter offering condolences to the family of Afagh Khosravi Zand following her death in prison and commemorating her life of activism (December 6, 2023, Iran Press Watch).
On December 9, 2023, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet began a three-day hunger strike in protest of the Iranian government’s treatment of Baha’is (December 14, 2023, Iran Press Watch). Narges Mohammadi joined the hunger strike in solidarity (December 9, 2023, CBS News).
In honor of International Women’s Day 2024, Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Narges Mohammadi joined eight of their fellow inmates in signing an open letter condemning “Gender Apartheid” in Iran (March 9, 2024, Voice of America).
The cases of Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Jamaloddin Khanjani were highlighted in an April 2024 report by Human Rights Watch entitled “The Boot on My Neck: Iranian Authorities’ Crime of Persecution Against Baha’is in Iran” (April 1, 2024, Human Rights Watch).
The cases of Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, Afif Naeimi, and Jamaloddin Khanjani were highlighted in the Iran Chapter of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2024 Annual Report (May 1, 2024, USCIRF).
On June 17, 2024, Narges Mohammadi and nine fellow inmates in Evin Prison published a letter expressing support for Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and the Baha’i community (June 17, 2024, Narges Mohammadi Human Rights Foundation).
- Prior DFP Case: The Baha'i Seven — 2008-2018 Imprisonment
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Detained: May 14, 2008
Released: October 31, 2017
Charges: Espionage, propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and establishment of an illegal administration
Sentence: Ten years in prison.
- Original Sentence: 20 years in prison.
Biography: Fariba Kamalabadi is a developmental psychologist and mother of three who was arrested twice previously because of her involvement with the Baha’i community. On one of those occasions she was held incommunicado for 10 days. As a youth, Mrs. Kamalabadi was denied the opportunity to study at a public university. In her mid-30s, she embarked on an eight-year period of study and ultimately received an advanced degree from the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education, an alternative institution established by the Baha’i community of Iran to serve young people who were barred from university.
Fariba Kamalabadi was RELEASED in October 2017 after completing her unjust ten-year sentence.
Advocate: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
Updates:
- The U.S. Department of State issued a statement condemning the continued imprisonment of the Baha'i Seven as well as reported abuses against them while incarcerated. The State Department called upon Iran to immediately release them, along with all prisoners of conscience in Iran (May 14, 2017, U.S. Department of State).