Hengaw – Wednesday, September 23, 2026 Branch 2 of the Sari Revolutionary Court has sentenced Romina Goli, a Baha’i woman residing in Sari, Mazandaran Province, to a total of five years, seven months, and 16 days in prison and a 10-year deprivation of social rights. According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Goli received five years in prison and a 10-year social rights ban for “deviant educational or proselytizing activity contrary to or disruptive of the sacred law of Islam,” under Article 500 bis of the Islamic Penal Code, and a further seven months and 16 days for “propaganda against the state,” under Article 500. If upheld, the ruling will result in the enforcement of the most severe sentence of five years in prison under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which governs the consolidation of sentences. Islamic Republic security forces arrested Goli in Sari on May 9, 2026, searched her home, and confiscated her personal digital devices and religious books. She was interrogated the following day at the Sari Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office and later released on bail pending the completion of judicial proceedings. The systematic repression of Baha’is through lengthy prison sentences and restrictions on social rights based on religion and personal beliefs constitutes religious discrimination and a violation of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.