Dorsa Sobhani, a Baha’i Activist, Arrested Today in Iran

by Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights

Dorsa Sobhani, a member of the 1 Million Signature Campaign, was arrested this morning in Sari, northern Iran. The 1 Million Signature Campaign aims to collect a million signatures to a petition to repeal all the discriminatory laws against women in Iran, while raising awareness about this inequality.Ms. Sobhani is a Baha’i who was denied her right to higher education because of her faith, and she has also campaigned for those rights. Many students – Baha’is and politically active – have been banned from attending universities in the past. The “Committee for the Right to Education”, which Dorsa is a member of, campaigned to lift these bans. Since the disputed June election in Iran, many members of the committee were arrested.
This arrest comes after a raid on Sobhani’s home on March 2th, when six security officials entered the home in the middle of the night, searched it and confiscated belongings. On March 4th, six officials returned to Sobhani’s home, and physically and verbally attacked her father. He was then arrested, blindfolded, bound and interrogated and threatened for hours. The security officials told him that unless he turns in Dorsa, he, his wife and young daughter will be arrested and their home will be taken away from them.
This morning Dorsa arrived at her home where she was met by 12 security agents who proceeded to arrest her.