Government shuts down Baha’i-owned businesses, arrests owners

 
Karaj Baha’i Man Arrested & His Store Sealed

18 February, 2010

RAHANA – on January 2nd, 2010, agents from the Intelligence Ministry attempted to arrest Payam Vali at his home, but had to leave since was not home at the time of their visit. Vali was subsequently summoned to the Intelligence Ministry, and arrested upon appearance on January 3rd, 2010.
8 days before he was arrested, the municipal police had sealed Vali’s eyewear shop along with 4 other Baha’i owned businesses in Karaj.

Shutting down businesses owned by Baha’is has become common in many Iranian cities. Many Baha’is have seen their businesses shut down by municipal authorities in Semnan, Tonkabon, Yasuj, Tehran, Sari and other cities. In most cases municipal authorities tell the owner –that is if he was lucky enough not to be arrested before his shop’s closure- that there is nothing they can do about the closure because it has been ordered by the Intelligence Ministry.

Source: RAHANA