10,000 days is a long time in anybody’s book, but especially so for Iran’s seven former Baha’i leaders.
For on 1 April that’s how long they’d spent in prison between them.
Read more about the story of Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm here.
Ms. Sabet was detained on 5 March 2008. Her six colleagues were arrested in early morning raids on their homes on 14 May 2008.
Saturday (April 21) marks the start of the 12-day Festival of Ridvan for Bahá’is across the world. It’s a time of commemmoration for the time Bahá’u’lláh spent in the Garden of Ridvan before being exiled from Baghdad to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
Bahá’u’lláh spent 40 years of his life in exile (he was originally sent from his native Tehran in Persia – present-day Iran – in 1853).
The Festival of Ridvan marks the anniversary of Baha’u’llah’s declaration in 1863 that He was a new messenger of God. He called Ridvan the “King of Festivals” and the “Festival of God,” among other names.
Bahá’is throughout the Thames Valley are gathering on April 21 for prayers and meditations at the start of the Festival of Ridvan. April 21 is one of the nine holy days of the year when work is suspended.
Thames Valley Bahá’í Community 