Baha'i Educator's Appeal Denied, Faces Nine-Year Sentence

A court appeal in Tehran has upheld a nine-year sentence and additional penalties for Baha’i educator Keyvan Rahimian.

The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Rahimian to five years’ imprisonment, six years of social rights deprivation, and a 50-million-toman ($920) fine for engaging in "deviant educational or propaganda activities contrary to Islamic Sharia."

He was also handed a four-year prison term for "colluding to commit crimes against the country's security."

According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, Rahimian will serve at least five years of the imposed prison term.

Rahimian, a professor at the Baha'i Virtual University of Iran, has a history of arrests and imprisonments. 

In 2017, he was released from Karaj’s Rajaei Shar prison after serving a five-year sentence.