Crackdown Continues: Another Believer Vanishes in Iran

It is with a deeply burdened heart that I address the recent arrest of our brother in faith, Habibullah Ahmadi, an Afghan citizen and peaceful adherent of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, who was detained in Iran on Friday, May 2, 2025, between the hours of 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. local time, most likely in Tehran. Brother Habibullah, born on July 7, 1979, was seized while courageously distributing flyers about our faith.

Eyewitness accounts, including a testimony from a sister that wants to remain anonymous for dafety reasons, confirm that Brother Habibullah was arrested solely for his religious beliefs and his efforts to share our message. As of this statement, his location and legal status remain unknown. We demand to know where he is being held and to ensure he is granted the basic rights of legal representation, family contact, and due process under international human rights law.

This arrest follows a chilling and disturbing pattern of religious repression by the Iranian regime. We are reminded with great sorrow of the ongoing forced disappearances of two other faithful believers: Saeed Jarrahian (born 30 November 1982) and Abbas Jafari Najaf (born 11 April 1973), who were apprehended on February 10, 2025, during a peaceful outreach effort. They were taken by Iranian security forces and subsequently held incommunicado in the intelligence section of Evin Prison. To this day, they have not been formally charged or granted a fair trial. We have received only a brief phone call from Brother Abbas confirming his detention—no further contact has been allowed.

This egregious violation of basic human rights is part of a broader campaign of persecution. In 2019, the Iranian authorities launched an official propaganda assault against our religion, culminating in a defamatory documentary that portrayed our sacred beliefs as "heretical." This campaign laid the groundwork for systematic targeting, arrests, and torture of our members.

One of the most brutal incidents occurred in December 2022, when 13 members, including two innocent children, were intercepted by intelligence agents. The group was attacked without warning—vehicles were fired upon, and the believers were violently assaulted. This was not law enforcement—it was state-sponsored terror.

Our brothers and sisters continue to suffer in Evin Prison, where leaked footage has revealed appalling conditions: torture, abuse, and coerced confessions. This level of cruelty is a direct violation of both Iranian constitutional protections and the international human rights treaties to which Iran is a signatory.

We, the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, denounce these violations with every fiber of our faith and being. We call upon the international community, human rights organizations, and the global conscience to act swiftly:

• Demand the immediate release of Habibullah Ahmadi, Saeed Jarrahian, and Abbas Jafari Najaf.

  
  

• Hold the Iranian government accountable for its systematic persecution of religious minorities.

  
  

• Protect the right of all individuals—regardless of origin or creed—to believe, speak, and live freely.

  
  

To the Iranian authorities: history will not forget. The truth cannot be imprisoned. Light, no matter how suppressed, will always rise.