Iran's Persecution of Baha'is: The Torture of Athlete Borna Naimi

Borna Naimi, a 29-year-old Baha'i athlete in Iran, was arrested and tortured by the IRGC, facing mock executions and electric shocks to force a false confession. His case is emblematic of a systematic campaign against the Baha'i minority.

In a dim, windowless cell inside a detention facility in Iran's southeastern city of Kerman, 29-year-old Borna Naimi clings to fragments of normalcy--his young daughter's drawings taped to a wall, small reminders of a life interrupted. A karate athlete, a father, and a member of Iran's Baha'i community, Naimi has become the latest emblem of what rights groups describe as a deepening and systematic campaign of persecution by Iranian authorities against the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority.

Arrested on March 1 by masked officers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Naimi's detention quickly descended into a pattern of abuse that mirrors longstanding allegations against the Islamic Republic's security apparatus against the community, which is driven by beatings, psychological coercion, and torture aimed at extracting confessions. According to accounts compiled by the Baha'i International Community (BIC), Naimi has endured at least two mock executions, repeated electric shocks that left burns on his legs and feet, and sustained physical assault targeting his ribs, back, and torso.

In the early days of his detention, he was reportedly held in what detainees refer to as the "death suite," a section reserved for prisoners awaiting execution--an environment designed to induce extreme psychological distress. "It is impossible not to feel immense heartache for the plight of this family, who have suffered such cruelty solely for their faith," said Simin Fahandej, the Baha'i International Community's Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "History will remember not only the merciless crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but also the courage and bravery of youth who... have stood firm in the face of a government that has stopped at nothing in its attempt to crush them."

But it is the threats against his family that appear to have inflicted the deepest wounds. Interrogators allegedly warned Naimi that his three-year-old daughter could be taken into state custody if he refused to cooperate. Under mounting pressure, he ultimately signed a "false confession" implicating himself and his cousin, Peyvand Naimi, in the killing of Basij personnel, a paramilitary force under the IRGC, during January protests--charges that, by available timelines, appear demonstrably false.

"The treatment of Borna and Peyvand is a stark indication of the Islamic Republic's relentless efforts to fabricate accusations," Fahandej added, "and falsely present them as responsible for crimes they did not commit."

A Pattern of Coercion and Fabricated Charges

No trial has been held. No verifiable evidence has been presented. Instead, what emerges is a portrait of a system where confession precedes investigation. Naimi's case is not isolated. His cousin Peyvand, arrested earlier on January 8, reportedly endured similar treatment, including mock hangings and forced televised confessions broadcast in February. In both cases, rights advocates argue that the objective is not justice, but narrative control--constructing a version of events that aligns with state priorities amid mounting domestic unrest. "This is not merely a security case," noted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi in a public statement on Telegram. "It is a clear instance of torture, violation of fair trial rights, forced confession, and denial of medical care."

BIC also points to the case of Romina Khazali, an artist and her husband Behzad Yazdani a translator who remain in legal limbo in a prison in Shiraz. The BIC says that as of April 6 the couple were in custody at Adelabad Prison more than a week after their arrest with no official information available regarding the nature of any charges against them or their legal status.

Scapegoating Amid National Instability

The timing is critical. Iran continues to grapple with the aftershocks of nationwide protests, which started due to rising living costs, with authorities imposing internet restrictions. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic is also undergoing a volatile security environment, as it is currently in a state of stalemate with a superpower like the United States and its coalition partner Israel, following a month-long period of hostilities in the region. In such moments, minority communities have historically been positioned as convenient scapegoats.

Despite being the largest non-Muslim community in the country, the Baha'is have long been denied recognition under Iran's constitution and have frequently borne the brunt of this discriminatory strategy. Officials and state-aligned media have, in recent months, intensified efforts to link Baha'i individuals to unrest, espionage, and foreign interference. According to the BIC, since 2023, social media in Iran--particularly government-controlled platforms and websites--has emerged as the main channel for spreading anti-Baha'i sentiment, with around 163,726 posts containing hate speech recorded. The allegations often lack substantiation but are amplified through coordinated messaging campaigns.

For detainees like Naimi, the consequences are immediate and severe. Inside prison, Naimi's identity has been reduced to that of a suspect in a case built on coercion. Yet among fellow inmates, he is known differently: as the father who keeps his child's belongings close, a quiet assertion of humanity within a system designed to erode it. Outside, the impact reverberates through his family. "The brutal psychological pressures surrounding his child have been intended to break Borna mentally", the Baha'i International Community noted, adding that his daughter now believes her father has abandoned her.

The psychological dimension of Naimi's treatment--threats against loved ones, sensory deprivation, and simulated executions--aligns with documented interrogation practices aimed at breaking detainees without leaving easily traceable physical evidence. In his case, however, the physical scars are also evident.

Escalating Crackdown on Baha'is Across Iran

Naimi's ordeal unfolds against a backdrop of intensifying pressure on Baha'is across Iran. Data compiled between mid-2023 and early 2025 indicates a marked escalation in arrests, particularly targeting women, who now constitute a significant proportion of detained Baha'is. Mass trials, lengthy prison sentences, and coordinated home raids have become more frequent.

In several cities, authorities have carried out early morning arrests without warrants, often accompanied by property seizures and prolonged interrogations. Women, including mothers of young children and elderly individuals, have faced disproportionate targeting. Reports describe cases of medical neglect, physical abuse, and forced separation from families--tactics that extend the reach of punishment beyond the individual detainee.

Among the most prominent cases is that of Mahvash Sabet, a 71-year-old prisoner of conscience who, after more than 13 years behind bars, was forced to return to prison following open-heart surgery to complete an additional 10-year sentence. Her case has drawn widespread concern over medical neglect and the continued detention of elderly prisoners on faith-based charges.

In Isfahan, 10 Baha'i women--most in their twenties and thirties--were handed a combined 90-year prison sentence in October 2024, following arrests that rights groups say were conducted without due process. A broader sweep that same month saw 26 Baha'is, including 16 women, sentenced to a cumulative 126 years in prison, underscoring what observers describe as a deliberate focus on women within the community. "The scale and targeting reflect a calculated strategy," the Baha'i International Community noted in its assessment, pointing to "a significant increase in arrests and summonses, with dozens of women facing baseless criminal charges and prison sentences."

The crackdown has also extended to violent home raids, often carried out without warrants and disproportionately affecting vulnerable individuals. In multiple cities--including Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan, Hamedan, and Karaj--elderly women have reportedly suffered severe health consequences during such operations. In one instance, an elderly woman was rushed to a heart clinic following the shock of a raid, while another suffered a stroke requiring emergency intervention.

Systemic Social and Economic Exclusion

Beyond arrests and imprisonment, the state's approach has expanded into systemic social and economic exclusion. Baha'is continue to be barred from higher education unless they renounce their faith. In 2023, applicants were reportedly required to sign declarations disassociating themselves from the Baha'i community as a condition for university admission--an act widely condemned as a violation of freedom of conscience.

Those seeking alternative education through the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) have also faced harassment. In one case, the home of a woman hosting an exam was raided by intelligence agents, who confiscated materials and physically assaulted her son when he protested.

Cultural exclusion has similarly intensified. Baha'i musicians have been barred from public performances at the last minute despite holding official permits, with authorities explicitly citing their religious identity as the basis for exclusion. Meanwhile, burial rights--long a sensitive issue--have come under renewed pressure. In Tehran, dozens of graves belonging to Baha'is were reportedly bulldozed in 2024, while families have been denied access to cemeteries or prevented from conducting funerals in accordance with their religious practices.

"Such actions not only endanger innocent lives but further entrench a pattern of systematic persecution," said Simin Fahandej. "They seek to isolate, dehumanise, and ultimately silence an entire minority community."

An Unfolding Crisis

Digital surveillance and coordinated hate campaigns have further deepened social isolation, with hundreds of thousands of posts circulating on state-linked platforms portraying Baha'is as enemies of the state. Taken together, these cases and measures reflect a widening campaign--one that extends beyond detention cells into nearly every aspect of life for Iran's Baha'i community, reinforcing the sense that Borna Naimi's suffering is not an exception but part of an entrenched and expanding system.

Observers warn that periods of national instability--whether driven by protest movements, economic strain, or external conflict--often coincide with intensified crackdowns on marginalised groups in Iran. Recent developments suggest this pattern is repeating. "In the midst of war, instead of protecting its citizens, the Islamic Republic puts religious minorities under even greater pressure," Ebadi said. "And once again, the Baha'is are among the first victims."

As authorities seek to reassert control and redirect public attention, the targeting of Baha'is appears to be accelerating. The allegations against Naimi and his cousin--linking them to protest-related violence despite contradictory timelines--fit within a broader strategy of attributing unrest to internal "others".

In the absence of formal proceedings, Naimi's story is being written through fragments: testimony from advocacy groups, brief phone calls to family, and the visible marks of abuse. It is also being written in quieter ways--in a child's drawings preserved on a prison wall, in the persistence of identity under pressure, and in the growing documentation of a pattern that extends far beyond a single case. For Iran's Baha'i community, his experience is not an anomaly. It is a continuation. And as the country navigates another period of crisis, the question confronting observers is no longer whether the pressure is increasing but how far it will go.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)