[PROVISIONAL TRANSLATION FROM PERSIAN]

[Translator’s notes appear in square brackets.] [Personal information has been redacted.] [The excerpt below is from the section of the article that pertains to the Baha’i Faith]

[Adapted from website:] Human Rights Activists News Agency - HRANA [Date:] 3 Azar 1395 [23 November 2016]

Silence of the Responsible Authorities in Mazandaran Regarding the Sealing of 102 Commercial Units Belonging to Baha’i Citizens of This Province HRANA News Agency – After more than three weeks have passed since the sealing of 93 commercial units of Baha’i citizens in , in addition to months having passed from the closure of nine commercial units of Baha’i citizens of , the competent authorities have not given any official or legal response to the owners of these businesses. According to the verbal statements of the relevant authorities, the order to seal the Baha’i commercial units in Mazandaran Province was approved by the Security Council of this province. However, during these three weeks, not a single one of them has been able to meet with the governor of Mazandaran, Dr. Rabi’ Fallah Jelodar. Also, the public prosecutor of Mazandaran, Asadollah Jafari, and the head of the judiciary of Mazandaran Province, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Ali Taghavifard, have stated that the issue of sealing the Baha’i commercial units has nothing to do with the judiciary of the province. Following the in-person visits of the owners of these commercial units to the governor’s office, none of their letters have been registered by this body. The relevant unions either declare ignorance of the closure of these business units or disclaim responsibility for these closures. The Supervisory Commission refuses the in-person appeals of the trade owners and does not accept or register their complaints. According to the HRANA News Agency, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists in , despite the fact that about a month has passed since the mass sealing of Baha’i businesses in Mazandaran Province, the judicial and administrative authorities have remained silent in [response to] these citizens. Even the judiciary of the province has considered this act to be unrelated to itself. It has been reported that following the efforts of Baha’i citizens to solve this problem, a number of officials in the governorate even prevent the Baha’i citizens of this province from meeting with the governor. Efforts to prevent Baha’i shopkeepers from meeting with the governor are such that five Baha’i citizens of Qaemshahr, whose businesses were sealed on 11 and 12 Aban [1 and 2 November] were arrested while visiting the governor’s office. The process of their arrest and [what took place] before that were filmed by the officers. However, no evidence was provided by the relevant authorities in the case file that would indicate that they had gathered in a protest rally or chanted slogans or raised a placard.

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Behnam Mirzaie, Arsham Golpour, Nima Nowkhah, Shahrouz Zamani, Soheil Haghdoust are citizens who were arrested on 18 Aban [8 November] while visiting the Mazandaran governor’s office, and on 27 Aban [17 November], after nine days, they were each released on 20 million tomans’ bail. The officials from the Public Places Administration have stated that the condition for reopening the Baha’i trade units is to sign an undertaking in this regard: “I ……… undertake to close my business unit during the official national holidays and observe the rules of the trade union regulations, inform the unions, trade unions and Public Places [Administration] one week before our religious holiday. If it is agreed, I may close my place of business; otherwise, I will be treated according to the law.” However, according to paragraph B of Article 28 of the [National] Trade Unions Regulations, the owner of any trade unit can close its business unit on 15 days in a year without coordination with the union. In addition, the relevant authorities to investigate the closure of businesses are the trade unions, while [it is] the Public Places Supervision Office in Mazandaran Province [that] has directly sealed the business units. It should be noted that the Public Places Supervision Office is only an executive office, but in Mazandaran Province all issues related to the closure of Baha’i business are referred to this body and other authorities, including the commission for monitoring the unions, have refused to accept the complaints of the Baha’i citizens and have referred them to the Public Places Supervision Office to follow up on their complaints. The list of trade units of the citizens of Mazandaran that were sealed on 11 and 12 Aban [3 and 4 November]―coinciding with the birth of the Bab and Baha’u’llah―is as follows:

Nowshahr: (Seven Commercial Units) 1. Behshad Derakhshan, 2. Riazollah Heravi, 3. Monib Mansour, 4. Bahman Rouhani, 5. Rocky Yousefi, 6. Arastou Asadi, 7. Arash Derakhshanian

Qaemshahr: (31 Commercial Units) 8. Fariborz Sabeti, 9. Naim Samimi, 10. Rezvaneh Sami’i, 11. Akbar Goli, 12. Nima Miri, 13. Fazel Asadi,

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14. Shayan Ghadami, 15. Zekrollah Akbari, 16. Shahin Akbari, 17. Fariborz Sanaie, 18. Zekrollah Babaie, 19. Atrollah Movaffagh, 20. Daryoush Bakhtiari, 21. Saied Asadi, 22. Jalal Ataeian, 23. Shahrokh Asadi, 24. Zahra Golabian, 25. Joubin Yousefi, 26. Sohrab Laghaie, 27. Farzad Sabeti, 28. Changiz Derakhshanian and Nima Nowkhah, 29. Kourosh Ahmadzadegan, 30. Alaeddin Mirzaie, 31. Houman Rostami, 32. Shahram Zamani and Shahrouz Zamani, 33. Soheil Haghdoust, 34. Bahaoddin Samimi, 35. Behnam Shirvani and Behdad Shirvani, 36. Nourollah Ataeian, 37. Bahram Safari, 38. Soheil Ahmadzadegan, 39. Mehrpouya Fadaie

Sari: (42 Commercial Units) 40. Mansour Mehrchi, 41. Zatollah Darabi, 42. Sohrab Zahedi, 43. Saed Andakhs, 44. Golverdi Movaffaghi, 45. Nima Shabrokh,

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46. Yaghoub Akbari, 47. Arman Safaie, 48. Adel Samimi, 49. Nourgol Goli, 50. Farhad Rezghi, 51. Kamaloddin Akbari, 52. Amanollah Zahedi, 53. Kourosh Ahmadi, 54. Kourosh Moradi, 55. Asghar Movaffaghi, 56. Hosein Ahmadi, 57. Mehryar Ghanbari, 58. Ziaollah Khoshbin, 59. Ashkan Khalili, 60. Naim Kamali, 61. Ramin Mousavi, 62. Ehsan Sanaie, 63. Bahman Zabihi, 64. Behzad Zabihi, 65. Shahriar Foroughian, 66. Behrouz Yousefi, 67. Vahid Golpour, 68. Jahanbakhsh Movaffaghi, 69. Mohammad Movaffaghi, 70. Akbar Hoseini, 71. Ghavamoddin Sabetian, 72. Hesam Yousefi, 73. Zargham Zamani, 74. Nima Mahinbakht, 75. Pejman Roshankouhi, 76. Shahram Nowbakht, 77. Shahab Nowbakht, 78. Behrouz Yousefi, 79. Aramesh Andakhs,

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80. Deceased, Zekrollah Rahmanian

Tonekabon: (Six Commercial Units) 81. Misagh Esmailzadegan, 82. Noushin Masoudian, 83. Sirous Nasiri, 84. Saleh Oshkourian, 85. Sina Garshasbi, 86. Naim Khalajabadi

Fereydunkenar: (One Commercial Unit) 87. Afshin Azadi

Bahnamir: (Two Commercial Units) 88. Ahmad Nikounejad, 89. Feizollah Nikounejad

Amol: (Four Commercial Units) 90. Serollah Hekmatshoar, 91. Afshin Sobati, 92. Daryoush Talaie, 93. Farshid Kian

Also, some business units in Tonekabon and Nashtarud have been closed for almost a year. The names of [owners of] these business units are as follows: 94. Rouhollah Ighani, 95. Michel Esmailpour, 96. Khalil Naghipour, 97. Sanaiyyeh Kandi, 98. Omid Ghaderi

Also, four other shops in this city have been closed since Ordibehesht 1395 [May 2016] 99. Mehryar Lotfi, 100. Jamaloddin Esmailpour,

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101. Mahvash Khazeie, 102. Soroush Garshasbi

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