May
17, 2015
#7Bahais7years
– Afif Naeimi
 Today the Baha’i Community will
honor Afif Naeimi, who has been wrongfully imprisoned since 2008 solely
for his religious beliefs, as part of the global “Seven Days in
Remembrance of Seven Years in Prison for the Seven Baha’i Leaders”
campaign.
Afif Naeimi, 53, is an industrialist who was unable to pursue his dream
of becoming a doctor because as a Baha’i he was denied access to a
university education. Instead, he diverted his attention to business,
one of the few avenues of work open to Baha’is, taking over his
father-in-law’s blanket and textile factory.
Arrested on 14 May 2008 in an early morning raid on his home in Tehran,
Mr. Naeimi was sent first to Evin prison and then, after the 2010 trial
of the seven, to Gohardasht prison.
Mr. Naeimi was born on 6 September 1961 in Yazd. His father died when
he was three and he was raised in part by his uncles. While still in
elementary school, he was sent to live with relatives in Jordan and,
although he started with no knowledge of Arabic, he soon rose to the
top of his class.
He has long been active in volunteer Baha’i service. He has taught
Baha’i children’s classes, conducted classes for adults, taught at the
Baha’i Institute of Higher Education, and been a member of the
Auxiliary Board, an appointed position which serves principally to
inspire, encourage, and promote learning among Baha’is.
He married Ms. Shohreh Khallokhi in the early 1980s. They have two sons.
Mr. Naeimi was one of seven who formed the entire membership of the
now-disbanded ad hoc group known as the “Yaran” or “Friends,” tending
to the spiritual and social needs of the Iranian Baha’i community in
the absence of formally elected Baha’i leadership, which was banned in
1983.
The names of the others are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani,
Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Ms.
Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008; the others were arrested on 14 May
2008.
In 2010, the seven were tried and wrongfully convicted on charges of
“espionage” and “spreading propaganda against the regime,” among other
false accusations. They were sentenced to 20 years in prison, the
longest terms of any current prisoners of conscience in Iran.
The campaign to remember them will run until 21 May 2015. Events are
being planned around the world by Baha’i communities and others to call
attention to the plight of the seven, along with the wrongful
imprisonment of 110 other Baha’is in Iran – as well as other prisoners
of conscience there.
Each day, a different member of the seven will be commemorated.
Tomorrow, 18 May, the campaign will focus on the situation of Saeid
Rezaie.
“Our hope is that people around the world will organize spirited
actions, reach out to governments and society at large, and involve
friends and family in an effort to draw attention to the situation of
each member of the seven on the day designated to him or her,” said
Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International
Community to the United Nations.
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