Latest incidents expose Iranian authorities torturing a Baha’i prisoner to manufacture evidence against another—as concerns grow that the Islamic Republic is cracking down further on Iranian Baha’is GENEVA—10 April 2026—Borna Naimi, a 29-year-old Baha’i in Iran, and father of a threeyear-old, has endured at least two mock executions, electric shocks causing severe burns to his feet, and other forms of torture, since his arrest in Kerman on 1 March.
His treatment, and that of another young Baha’i who faced similar treatment, are raising concerns regarding the intensification of the persecution against the Baha’is in Iran, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.
During the first days of detention, Borna was repeatedly beaten, receiving multiple blows to his sides, ribs, beneath the chest, and his back. He was transferred several times to places near his residence, where he was pressured with threats concerning his wife and young daughter, including threats that his child would be sent to a state orphanage if he did not cooperate.
Borna’s torture was so extensive that he was forced to sign a false confession in which he implicated himself and his cousin, Peyvand Naimi, in killing Basij guards during 8 January protests. No evidence exists for this charge, and neither Borna nor Peyvand could have committed these crimes, as they occurred after Peyvand had been detained and while Borna was surrounded by family at home. The text of his forced confession had been prepared beforehand and handed to him to read. No trial has been held for either prisoner.
Borna and his young daughter have a close relationship. The brutal psychological pressures surrounding his child have been intended to break Borna mentally to force him to confess to crimes he did not commit. The situation has caused great distress in his daughter—who thinks her father has abandoned her. Borna is known among other prison inmates as the prisoner who keeps the drawings and clothing of his daughter on the wall near him.
“It is impossible to not feel immense heart ache 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, relying only on their inner convictions and beliefs, have stood firm in their beliefs in the face of a government that has stopped at nothing in its attempt to crush them.”
During his first days in prison, Borna was held in a special section of the prison called the “suite”—the “the death suite”—in which death row prisoners are held 48 hours before execution. Reports indicate that, during this time, he was held under solitary confinement in a small room about two-by-two metres in size, in such a way that he could not distinguish between night and day.
Borna was also extensively tortured further, including the use of electric shocks so extensively that it caused burns to his legs.
Borna’s mock executions follow the same treatment against Peyvand as reported on 24 March by the Baha’i International Community.
The cases raise serious concerns over the escalating persecution and violence facing Iran’s Baha’is as the Iranian government attempts to frame them for Iran’s crisis situation. Alarm over rising persecution comes as the authorities are attempting to scapegoat the Baha’is for the January 2026 protests and the current conflict.
“The treatment of Borna and Peyvand is a stark indication of the Islamic Republic’s relentless efforts to fabricate accusations against the Baha’is and falsely present them as responsible for crimes they did not commit,” said Ms. Fahandej.
“It raises grave concerns about the plans and intentions of the Iranian government for the Baha’is in Iran, who have, time and again, been scapegoated at moments of national crisis as a means of deflecting attention from its own deepening repression. Such actions not only endanger innocent lives but further entrench a pattern of systematic persecution that seeks to isolate, dehumanize, and ultimately silence an entire minority community.”
Background:-
● Borna was arrested at his workplace by six masked officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization. He was handcuffed and taken to an IRGC detention centre—though his family received no word of his whereabouts or wellbeing for three days. Short phone calls then began but were cut after 8 March for a further week. Borna is an accomplished karate athlete with gold medals in both domestic and international competitions.
● Peyvand was first arrested on 8 January, tortured, and endured two mock hangings, after he was accused of inciting unrest during the January protests and killing the Basij officers. After his 1 March arrest, Borna was accused of accompanying Peyvand and participating in the alleged murders. The charges are absurd and false. Peyvand’s 8 January detention occurred before the alleged incident, and Borna was at home at the time of the supposed crimes.
● A previous false confession extracted from Peyvand was aired on 1 February on state television. Dozens of international officials and parliamentarians, prominent individuals, and rights groups have called for Peyvand’s release.
● Four Baha’is are jailed at Kerman Prison as part of the Iranian government’s efforts to scapegoat the Baha’is after the January protests; these are Peyvand Naimi, Borna Naimi, Shakila Ghasemi, and Adib Shahbazpour.
Author: Sanjeevni Today
Reporter
