A HEAVY CASE HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST PARIA MARANDIZ, A BAHA I ARTIST

An interrogation session for Paria Marandiz, a Baháʼí artist and theater and cinema actress, was held at Branch 3 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran. She faced charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” “supporting the Zionist regime,” and “insulting the sacred,” and presented her defense. At the end of the session, she was temporarily released on bail set at 3.5 billion tomans.

Her interrogation came after four rounds of lengthy questioning.

According to reports, during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, 12 security agents (10 men and 2 women) stormed Ms. Marandiz’s home by breaking the front door lock. They searched the house and confiscated personal belongings belonging to her and her family, including books, religious images, a laptop, and mobile phones. Ms. Marandiz was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, where she endured six hours of interrogation before being dropped off on the street around 11 p.m.

Two days later, after receiving a phone summons, she was again taken to a safe house run by the Ministry of Intelligence, where she underwent five more hours of questioning. She was subjected to two further rounds of interrogation, each lasting eight hours.