Mahvash Sabet

Detained: July 31, 2022

Charges: "Founding or leading an organization that aims to disrupt national security" (Art. 498 IPC).

Sentence: Ten years in prison.

Biography: Mahvash Sabet is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On July 31, 2022, security forces arrested Sabet in Tehran after raiding her home.

Sabet 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 March 5, 2008, authorities arrested Sabet for her role as a Baha'i religious leaders. Sabet was part of a group called “Yaran-i-Iran” or “Friends in Iran," whose other members were later arrested in May 2008.

In January 2010, it was reported that Sabet'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 Sabet was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In September 2010, it was reported that Sabet'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 Sabet's original 20-year sentence. In 2012, it was reported that Sabet broke her hip while imprisoned and was not allowed to take medical leave from prison.

Advocate: Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Advocacy Partner: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Updates:

• On November 21, 2022, after a trial which lasted approximately one hour, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi 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 Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi (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 Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, and Afif Naeimi (February 17, 2023, Front Line Defenders).
• In April 2023, it was reported that Mahvash Sabet's kneecaps were broken during an interrogation following her arrest on July 31, 2022 (April 11, 2023, New Arab).
• Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi 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).
• 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 Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, 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). That same day, PEN International and affiliated PEN organizations condemned the alleged torture of Mahvash Sabet and called for her immediate release as well as immediate provision of adequate medical care while in custody (May 22, 2023, PEN International).
• To commemborate the first anniversary of Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi'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 Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi'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 Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, and Narges Mohammadi (September 14, 2023, Front Line Defenders).

• In November 2023, Mahvash Sabet published an open letter to the people of Iran, calling on them to support equality for the Baha’i community (November 20, 2023, IranWire). The following week, it was reported that prison authorities had revoked her access to phone calls (November 27, 2023, IranWire)

• On November 28, 2023, Mahvash Sabet joined Fariba Kamalabadi, 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, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi 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, Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, 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  Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, 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 Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, 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 Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, and the Baha’i community (June 17, 2024, Narges Mohammadi Human Rights Foundation).

• On October 13, 2024, it was reported that Mahvash Sabet was in poor health and was being denied medical treatment for her worsening health conditions (October 13, 2024, Iran Press Watch). She suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and has “lost part of her lung function,” according to the prison doctor (October 14, 2024, IranWire).

• On December 1, 2024, Mahvash Sabet was transferred to Rajaei Hospital to be hospitalized for cardiac issues. She also developed a “lung condition” while in prison after contracting COVID-19 and inhaling smoke during a fire at the prison (December 4, 2024, IranWire).

• In early January 2025, it was reported that Mahvash Sabet had undergone open-heart surgery and that authorities planned to return her to prison soon after the operation (January 2, 2025, Agence France Presse).