Mahvash Shahriari Sabet (Persian: مهوش شهریاری ثابت; born February 4, 1953 in Ardestan, Isfahan)[1][2] better known as Mahvash Sabet (Persian: مهوش ثابت) is an Iranian poet and former educator. She was one of the Baháʼí 7.
Mahvash Sabet | |
|---|---|
| Persian: مهوش ثابت | |
| Born | Mahvash Shahriari Sabet February 4, 1953 |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Known for | Trial for the crime of "spying for Israel", "blasphemy" and propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran |
Early life and career
editMahvash Shahriyari was born in Ardestan, Iran.[2][3] When she was in the fifth grade, her family moved to Tehran.[2] Shahriyari graduated college with a bachelor's degree in psychology.[2]
Shahriyari married her husband, Siyvash Sabet, on May 21, 1973.[2] The couple has a son and a daughter.[2]
Sabet first worked as a teacher, before later working as a principal at several schools[2][3] and collaborating with the National Literacy Committee of Iran.[4] After the Iranian Revolution, she was barred from working in public education due to her faith.[2][3]
Religious activity
editSabet became the director of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education,[2][3] where she worked for 15 years.[5]
In 2006, Sabet was asked to become a leader of Iran's Baháʼí community.[6] She and six other leaders "tended to the spiritual and social needs of the Iranian Baha’i community given the absence of formally elected Baha’i leadership".[2]
Writing
editWhile in prison, Sabet wrote poems about her experiences on scraps of paper, napkins, and paper towels, which were then given to family members during visits.[2][3] Initially, she wrote poetry for her family, but with time Sabet began using poetry as a way to express and process her emotions, with it becoming a "means of survival".[3]
In 2011, some of her poems were shared with Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, a relative living in the United Kingdom, who translated some of the poems into English.[3] In 2013, 70 of Sabet's poems were compiled and released as a book, titled Prison Poems.[2][3]
PEN International recognized Sabet as an "International Writer of Courage" in 2017,[3] and she received honorary membership in the PEN organizations of Austria and Denmark.[7]
Arrests and imprisonments
editSabet was first released in 2005 on the day of her daughter's wedding, but was released after questioning.[5]
On March 5, 2008, Sabet was detained while visiting Mashhad, becoming the first of the Baháʼí 7 to be arrested.[2] She was kept in Raja’i Shahr Prison, and later in Qarchak Prison in Varamin.[8] In February 2009, she was charged with spying for Israel, propaganda against the Islamic Republic, insulting sacred sites, and establishment of an illegal administration.[2][9] In June 2010, she and the rest of the Baháʼí 7 were tried, convicted, and given sentences of 20 years in prison.[2][9] The group was represented by Shirin Ebadi during her trial,[5] who said that there was "not a shred of evidence" for the crimes which they were charged with.[4]
Sabet was held in Tehran's Evin Prison for the duration of her sentence.[2] While in Evin, she developed tuberculosis[5] and osteoporosis, for which she was allowed a five-day furlough in October 2016 to pursue treatment.[8] In 2011, Sabat was included in a series of Dutch postage stamps recognizing victims of human rights abuses in Iran.[10]
In 2016, the Baháʼí 7 were informed that their sentences had been reduced to ten years, in light of a 2013 penal code reform.[2]
She was released on September 18, 2017,[2] a day earlier than scheduled.[3] Sabet had to borrow a stranger's phone to call her family and let them know she had been released.[3]
Sabet was arrested again on July 31, 2022.[7] At the time, she was at a friend's house in northern Iran while recovering from COVID-19.[7] A statement released after her arrest accused her and other detainees of "participating in groups to act against national security through teaching and preaching the Baha’i faith to children in kindergartens, [and] agitating against Islamic Sharia through holding coaching courses".[6] She was beaten during interrogations, according to her daughter, and kept in solitary confinement for 42 days.[7] She was then transferred to Evin's Ward 209, and, five months later, to the women's political-ideological ward of Evin Prison.[7] On November 21, 2023 she was sentenced to another ten year prison sentence in Evin Prison after an hour-long trial shared with Fariba Kamalabadi, another member of the Baháʼí 7.[7][11]
Family
editSabet's daughter moved to Australia in 2017, and as of 2022 she lives in Sydney with her daughter.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Mahvash Shahriari Sabet, an imprisoned poet and educator". NIAC. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Mahvash Sabet - The Baha'i Seven". United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Basu, Moni (2017-11-16). "Writing to survive: Baha'i woman's poetry was her best friend in Iranian jail". CNN. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ^ a b "Mahvash Sabet Concludes 10-Year Prison Sentence". Iran Press Watch. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ^ a b c d e Khadem, Nassim (2022-09-15). "Negar can't sleep at night knowing her mum is in an Iranian prison because of her religion". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ^ a b Sabeti, Kian (July 31, 2023). "Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet: A Year in Detention and Counting". IranWire.
- ^ a b c d e f Sabeti, Kian (March 15, 2023). "A Baha'i Grandmother Starts Her Second Decade in Prison". IranWire. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ a b "After Eight Years, Mahvash Sabet Shahriari Received a Five-Day Furlough". Iran Press Watch. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ^ a b "Mahvash Shahriari Sabet, an imprisoned poet and educator". NIAC. April 10, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ^ "Jailed Iranian Baha'i leader appears on Dutch postage stamp". Bahá’í World News Service. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ^ "New 10-Year Prison Terms for 2 Baha'i Figures in Iran". Voice of America. 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2023-11-24.