Iran: The
government of Iran continues
to engage in
systematic, ongoing, and
egregious
violations of religious
freedom,
including prolonged
detention, torture, and executions
based
primarily or entirely upon
the religion of the accused . Iran
is a constitutional, theocratic republic that
discriminates against its citizens on the basis of religion
or belief.
During the past year,
religious
freedom conditions
continued to deteriorate, especially for religious minorities,
most notably Baha‘is,
as well as Christians and Sufi Muslims, and physical attacks,
harassment, detention, arrests,
and imprisonment intensified. Even
the recognized
non-Muslim religious minorities
protected under Iran‘s constitution – Jews, Armenian and
Assyrian
Christians, and Zoroastrians
– faced increasing discrimination,
arrests,
and imprisonment. Majority Shi‘a and
minority Sunni Muslims,
including clerics
who dissent, were intimidated, harassed,
and detained. Dissidents and human
rights
defenders
were
increasingly subject
to abuse and
several
were sentenced
to death
and even executed
for
the capital
crime of ―waging war
against God.‖ Heightened anti-Semitism
and repeated Holocaust
denials by senior government
officials have increased fear among Iran‘s Jewish community. Since the
1979
Iranian revolution, members of
minority religious
communities have fled Iran
in significant numbers for fear of persecution.
FINDINGS: The government
of Iran continues to engage in systematic,
ongoing,
and
egregious violations of religious
freedom,
including prolonged
detention, torture, and executions
based
primarily or entirely upon
the religion of the accused.
Iran
is a constitutional, theocratic republic
that discriminates against its
citizens on the basis of religion
or belief. During the past year, religious
freedom conditions
continued to deteriorate,
especially for religious minorities, most notably Baha‘is, as
well as Christians and Sufi Muslims, and physical
attacks,
harassment,
detention, arrests,
and imprisonment intensified.
Even the recognized non-Muslim religious
minorities protected under Iran‘s constitution – Jews, Armenian and Assyrian
Christians, and Zoroastrians
– faced
increasing discrimination, arrests, and
imprisonment. Majority Shi‘a and
minority Sunni Muslims,
including clerics who dissent,
were intimidated, harassed, and detained. Dissidents
and human rights defenders were increasingly subject to
abuse and several
were
sentenced to death and even executed
for
the capital crime of ―waging war against God.‖ Heightened anti-Semitism
and repeated Holocaust
denials by senior government officials have
increased fear among Iran‘s
Jewish
community.
Since the
1979 Iranian revolution, members
of minority religious communities have fled Iran in
significant numbers for fear
of persecution.
Since 1999, the State Department
has designated Iran as a ―country of
particular concern,‖ or
CPC,
under the International
Religious
Freedom Act (IRFA). USCIRF
recommends in 2012
that Iran again
be designated as
a CPC.
Since the disputed 2009 elections, religious
freedom
conditions in Iran
have regressed to a point not seen
since the early days of the Islamic revolution. Killings, arrests,
and physical abuse of detainees have increased,
including for
religious minorities
and Muslims who dissent or express views perceived
as threatening the
legitimacy of
the government. During the
reporting period, the government continued to use its religious laws to silence reformers and critics, including women‘s
rights activists
and journalists, for exercising their internationally-protected rights to freedom of expression and
freedom of thought, conscience, and religion
or belief.
In January 2012, the Guardian Council approved
a law which, despite efforts by the parliament since 2008,
did not
codify the death penalty for apostasy.
Religious Freedom Conditions
Heightened
Concerns since the
June 2009 Disputed Elections
Since the June 12,
2009 disputed elections,
human rights and religious freedom conditions have regressed to a point not seen since the early days of the Islamic revolution more than
30 years
ago. Security and paramilitary forces
have used brutal
force against the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who demonstrated
and protested in the streets in the months
after the elections, as
well as after the uprisings started
in the Arab world in early 2011.
Dozens of Iranians
have been killed
and thousands have been arrested, convicted, and given lengthy prison
terms. Hundreds
remain in detention. More than a
dozen dissidents
have been executed,
on a
variety of charges, including alleged
religious
crimes such as ―waging war against God,‖ ―spreading corruption
on earth,‖ and ―moral
corruption.‖ During the reporting period,
the Iranian government
leveled unsubstantiated
charges
and used trial procedures for national
security cases against members of religious
minority communities and individuals
for alleged crimes
such as ―confronting the regime‖ and apostasy. In the run-up
to the March 2,
2012 parliamentary elections, Iranian security services
increasingly cracked
down on any form of public dissent,
particularly by
journalists.
Government Structure
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran proclaims Islam, specifically the
doctrine of the Twelver (Shi‘a) Jaafari School, to be the official religion of the country.
It stipulates
that all laws and regulations,
including the Constitution itself, must be based on Islamic criteria.
The head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is
the Supreme Leader of
the Islamic Revolution and has
direct control
over the armed forces,
the internal security forces, and
the judiciary.
The Supreme Leader is chosen by the Assembly of Experts,
a group
of 86 Islamic scholars elected by popular vote from
a government-screened list
of candidates. All legislation passed by the Majles (parliament) is reviewed for adherence to Islamic and
constitutional principles by the Guardian Council, six of whose 12 members
are appointed by the Supreme Leader. The Guardian Council also
has the power under the Constitution
to screen
and disqualify candidates for
all elective
offices, including the Assembly of
Experts and
the 290-member parliament [membership
will increase to 310 during the March
2012 elections], based on a vague and arbitrary set
of requirements, including candidates‘
ideological
and religious beliefs. Disputes over
legislation between the parliament and the Guardian
Council are adjudicated
by
the Expediency Council,
an advisory body appointed by the Supreme Leader.
Five seats
in the parliament are reserved
for recognized religious minorities,
two for Armenian Christians,
one for Assyrian
Christians, and one each for
Jews and Zoroastrians.
Majority and Minority Muslims
Over the
past few years, and
especially after the contested
June
2009 presidential election, the Iranian government has imposed harsh
prison sentences on prominent reformers
from the Shi‘a majority community,
many of whom have been tried
on criminal charges
of ―insulting Islam,‖ criticizing the Islamic Republic,
and publishing materials
that
allegedly deviate
from Islamic standards.
The Iranian government
has been repressing its
citizens on the basis of
religious identity for years, but
since June 2009 it has
increasingly manipulated the reach
of its religious
internationally-protected rights
of freedom of expression and
freedom of thought, conscience,
and religion
or belief. In February 2011,
the Iranian government placed
prominent reformers
and former presidential candidates
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi
Karroubi under
house arrest
after they expressed public support for the uprisings
in Egypt and Tunisia.
At
the end of the reporting period, they remain in detention.
In early 2010, the Iranian government began convicting and executing reformers
and peaceful protestors
on the charge of moharebeh (waging war
against God).
Reportedly, nearly 20
individuals have been charged, convicted,
and sentenced
to death
for moharebeh.
At least a dozen are known to have been
executed.
Since the June 2009 elections,
the government has stepped up its
crackdown on Shi‘a clerics,
prohibiting them from
publicly questioning the election results and
from criticizing the
government‘s response to
protests and demonstrations.
Over the years,
a number
of senior Shi‘a religious leaders
who have opposed
various religious and
political tenets and
practices of the Iranian government also
have been targets
of state repression, including house arrest,
detention without charge, trial
without
due process, torture, and other
forms of ill treatment. For example, in October 2006, Ayatollah Mohammad
Kazemeni
Boroujerdi, who
advocates the separation of religion
and state and has
spoken out on behalf of
the rights of Iran‘s
religious
minorities as well as
those of its Shi‘a Muslim majority, was
arrested and
imprisoned
without
charge.
He and 17
of his followers initially were tried by a special
court with jurisdiction
over Shi‘a clerics, and sentenced to death on spurious charges, including
―enmity against God‖ and spreading propaganda against the regime.
After an appeal,
the
death sentence was withdrawn and
Ayatollah Boroujerdi was sentenced to 11
years in prison. Ayatollah Boroujerdi
currently is serving his prison term, and the government
has banned him from practicing his clerical duties
and confiscated his home and belongings.
Ayatollah Boroujerdi‘s
supporters claim that he has
suffered physical and mental
abuse while in prison.
Sunni
Muslims
Muslim minorities
continue to face repression.
Several
of the country‘s
ethnic
minorities – Arabs, Baluchis,
Kurds, and Turkmen – practice Sunni Islam.
This
means these groups are
doubly affected,
and subject to discriminatory policies
based
on both their ethnic identity and
their faith. Sunni Muslim leaders regularly are intimidated
and harassed by intelligence and
security services
and report
widespread official discrimination.
In addition,
the
Iranian government discriminates
against the Sunni community in government employment, particularly
in leadership positions in the executive and
judicial branches.
Sunni leaders
have reported
widespread abuses and
restrictions on their religious practice,
including detentions and abuse
of Sunni
clerics, as well as bans
on Sunni teachings
in public schools and Sunni religious literature, even in predominantly Sunni
areas. In December 2011,
Sunni Muslim members of
parliament wrote to
the
Supreme Leader asking for
an end to discrimination
against Sunni Muslims in Iran,
an end
to the imposition of
religious limitations,
and permission to build a mosque in Tehran. The Sunni community still has
not been able to build a mosque
in Tehran and, in recent years, Sunni
mosques were destroyed in eastern Iran
near Zabol, Sistan-Baluchistan, and
Mashhad. In recent years,
dozens
of Sunni clerics reportedly were arrested
for
spreading Sunni teachings in several
parts of the country, including Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Baluchistan, West Azerbaijan, Ahvaz, Tavalesh,
and Khorassan
provinces.
Sufi Muslims
During the past year, arrests and harassment
of Sufi Muslims increased significantly.
Sufi
Muslims have faced growing
government repression of their
communities and
religious practices,
including increased harassment
and imprisonment of prominent
Sufi
leaders by the
intelligence and
security services and the destruction
of prayer centers and hussainiyas (places
of worship). In 2011, some Shi‘a clerics
and prayer leaders denounced
Sufism and Sufi activities in both sermons and public statements. Government restrictions
on Sufi groups and places
of worship
have become more pronounced.
Over the
past few years, authorities
have detained hundreds
of Sufi Muslims, particularly from
the Nematollahi Gonabadi order,
sentencing many to imprisonment,
fines, and floggings. In
September and
October 2011,
a Sufi Muslim from
the
Gonabadi order was killed and
several
were injured
during a government crackdown in southwestern Iran, Fars province, during which
the Basij militia arrested at least 60 Sufis. At the end of the reporting period,
at least 11 remain
in detention. Four attorneys – Farshid Yadollahi, Amir Eslami, Afshin
Karampour, and
Omid Behruz – who defended the dervishes in court
were also arrested
in September. At
the
end of the reporting period,
human
rights groups report that the four attorneys
continue
to be held in Evin Prison and
were charged in December with insulting the
Supreme Leader,
―spreading lies,‖ and
membership in a ―deviant
group.‖
In April 2011,
eight Sufi dervishes
from the Gonabadi order
were
re-arrested on charges of disrupting public order, previous charges for which they received floggings and
had been imprisoned. The previous
month, in March, over 200
Gonabadi Sufis were summoned
to courts throughout the country based on allegations
that they were insulting
Iranian
authorities. In January, three Iranian
lawyers
who defended
Sufi
dervishes were sentenced
to prison terms. Farshid Yadollahi
and Amir Eslami were sentenced
to six months by a penal court
on Kish Island in southern Iran,
and Mostafa Daneshjoo
was
sentenced to seven
months by a court
in the northern province of Mazandaran.
According to human rights groups, the three lawyers
were
found guilty of
―propagating lies and
creating public
anxiety,‖ while their clients
were acquitted of ―acting against national security.‖
Furthermore, Iranian state television continued
to air a series
of programs designed
to denigrate and
demonize Sufism, particularly the Nematollahi Gonabadi order.
Since 2006,
several prayer centers of the Gonabadi
order have been demolished or
attacked
by
Iranian authorities. There also have been reports over
the past few years that the government is
considering a ban
on Sufism.
Non-Muslim
Religious
Minorities
The constitution
of Iran formally recognizes Christians,
Jews,
and Zoroastrians
as protected religious
minorities who may worship freely and
have autonomy over
their own matters
of
personal
status
(e.g., marriage, divorce, and
inheritance). Nevertheless, the primacy of Islam and
Islamic laws and
institutions adversely affects the rights and status of non-Muslims and the recognized religious
minorities live, in effect, as second class citizens. Members
of these groups are subject
to legal and other forms
of discrimination, particularly in
education, government
jobs and services,
and the armed services.
In addition, their
places of worships frequently are defaced with graffiti
and photos of the religious leadership.
Their private
schools are administered
by Iran‘s Ministry of
Education, which
imposes a state-approved
religious curriculum.
Non-Muslims may not engage with Muslims in public religious
expression
or persuasion; some also face restrictions
on publishing religious material
in Persian. In
2004, the Expediency
Council authorized the
collection
of equal blood money for
the death of Muslim and non-Muslim
men. Baha‘is, Sabean
Mandaean men, and all women
remain excluded from the revised ruling. According to Iranian law, Baha‘i
blood is mobah, which means
members of the Baha‘i faith
can be killed with
impunity.
Since the June 2009
elections, the Iranian government has
intensified
its campaign against non- Muslim religious
minorities. A consistent
stream of virulent and inflammatory statements
by political and religious
leaders
and an increase in harassment
and imprisonment of, and physical
attacks against, these
groups have led
to a renewal of
the kind of oppression seen
in the years
immediately following the Iranian revolution in
the early 1980s. In
October 2010 in Qom in central Iran, Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah
Ali
Khamenei publicly stated that ―enemies
of Islam‖ are using the spread
of Sufism, the Baha‘i faith,
and Christian house churches
to weaken the faith
of young people in
society. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head
of the Guardian Council, continued
to demonize non-Muslims publicly and refer
to them as ―sinful animals‖ and
―corrupt.‖
In early 2008, the Iranian parliament
began considering a
new law that would
impose serious punishments,
including the death penalty, on converts from Islam. Although the Iranian government
has in the past applied the death penalty for apostasy under Islamic law,
it had
never
explicitly codified it. Despite efforts in
the parliament to advance this amendment,
in January
2012,
the Guardian Council approved a law
which did not include a provision
mandating the death penalty for
apostasy.
Baha’is
The Baha‘i community has long
been subject to particularly severe
religious freedom
violations in Iran.
Baha‘is, who number at least 300,000, are viewed as
―heretics‖ by Iranian authorities and may face repression on
the grounds of apostasy. Since 1979, Iranian government authorities have killed
more than 200 Baha‘i
leaders in Iran and dismissed more than
10,000 from government and university jobs. Baha‘is may not establish places of worship,
schools,
or any
independent religious
associations
in Iran.
In addition,
Baha‘is
are
barred from
the military and
denied government
jobs
and pensions as well as
the
right to inherit property. Their
marriages
and divorces also are not
recognized,
and they have difficulty obtaining death certificates. Baha‘i
cemeteries, holy places, and community properties
are
often seized
or desecrated, and many
important religious
sites have been
destroyed. The Baha‘i community faces severe
economic pressure, including denials of jobs in both
the public and private sectors and of business
licenses.
Iranian authorities often pressure
employers
of Baha‘is to dismiss them
from employment in the private sector.
In recent years, Baha‘is in Iran
have faced increasingly harsh treatment, including
increasing numbers of
arrests and detentions
and
violent attacks on private homes
and personal property.
More than 500
Baha‘is have been
arbitrarily arrested
since 2005. For the first
time since
the regime‘s
early years,
nearly 100 Baha‘is
are
being held in prison solely because of
their religious
beliefs.
Throughout 2011
and early 2012, Baha‘i-owned businesses
and personal property were the target of arson attacks in
several cities across the country; in
all
cases, police said nothing
could be done to find the perpetrators.
Dozens
of Baha‘is
are awaiting trial while others were sentenced
to prison terms ranging from 90 days to several years.
All
of those convicted are reportedly in
the
process of appealing the
verdicts. According to
human
rights groups, more than
400 Baha‘is continue to have
active
cases pending against them,
despite having been
released from
detention. Also in recent years, Baha‘i
cemeteries
in various
parts of the country,
including Tehran,
Ghaemshahr,
Marvdasht, Semnan, Sari, Yazd, Najafabad, and Isfahan, have been desecrated,
defaced,
or in some way blocked to the Baha‘i community.
Over
the past
several years, several articles
in the government-controlled newspaper Kayhan, whose managing editor is
appointed by Supreme
Leader
Ayatollah
Khamenei, and other
media outlets have vilified and demonized the Baha‘i
faith
and its community in Iran.
Iranian authorities also have gone to great lengths in recent years to collect information on members of the
Baha‘i community and
monitor their
activities.
During the reporting period,
dozens
of Baha‘is were arrested in several different
cities
throughout the country, including Tehran, Babolsar, Karaj,
Nazarabad,
Shahrekord, Semnan, Mashhad, Bandar Abbas, Shiraz, and
Ghaemshahr. In
most of these cases, Ministry of Intelligence officials
appeared at
the
homes of Baha‘is, searched
the premises and
confiscated computers, books and other materials, and then made arrests. In
most cases, no formal
charges
were filed.
In February 2012, Iranian
authorities raided several
Baha‘is homes in Shiraz, confiscated materials, and arrested at least 13 Baha‘is.
At the end of the reporting period,
nine of those arrested remain
in detention. In
late
December 2011, in Sanandaj, northwestern Iran, at
least
12
Baha‘i homes
were
raided and materials confiscated. Although no one was arrested, some
Baha‘is reported
physical abuse by Iranian
authorities.
In March and
May
2008, seven Baha‘i leaders – Fariba Kamalabadi,
Jamaloddin
Khanjani, Afif Naemi,
Saeid
Rezaie,
Mahvash
Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli,
and Vahid Tizfahm – were arrested and
taken to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. In
January 2010, they were formally charged
with espionage, propaganda activities
against the Islamic order, the establishment
of an illegal administration, cooperation with
Israel, acting against the security of
the country, and corruption on earth. In
August 2010,
the seven Baha‘is were sentenced
to 20 years in prison and moved to Gohardasht prison in Karaj, a facility known for violence between
inmates and unsanitary conditions. After a brief transfer to Qarchak
prison in May 2011, Sabet
and Kamalabadi
were
transferred again to
Evin prison where they remain.
In September 2010, authorities informed
the seven Baha‘is orally that
their 20-year sentences were reduced
to 10; however, prison
authorities
told the seven in March
2011
that their original
20-year sentences had
been reinstated. Attorneys for
the seven Baha‘is,
including Nobel Laureate
Shirin Ebadi, have had extremely limited access
to their clients
and court proceedings and have said categorically that the charges against them are baseless.
In May 2011,
in at least four different cities, Iranian
authorities raided more than 30 homes of Baha‘is
involved with the Baha‘i Institute for Higher
Education
(BIHE), the community‘s
24 year-old effort
to educate its youth,
whom the government bars from
undergraduate
or graduate
studies. Approximately 18 Baha‘is
were arrested and a number of
books, documents, computers, and
other materials associated
with the BIHE were seized.
Several Baha‘is
were released
after
days
or weeks
in detention, but in October, seven were tried and
found guilty of membership
in a deviant sect with
the goal of
taking action against the security of the
country. The seven were sentenced to either four- or five-year prison
terms. In January 2012, Vahid Mahmoudi, one of
the
seven
educators imprisoned, was
released after his sentence was suspended. At the end
of the reporting period, the other six educators – Mahmoud
Badavam,
Noushin Khadem, Farhad Sedghi,
Riaz
Sobhani, Ramin Zibaie, and Kamran Mortezaie – remain in prison. In September,
prominent human
rights defender
Abdolfattah Soltani was
arrested for preparing
a defense for
the Baha‘i educators. He was
arrested
and detained for several months
in 2005 and 2009 under similar circumstances.
In
February 2012, relatives
of imprisoned members of
the BIHE briefed USCIRF in
Washington.
In January 2011, Navid Khanjani,
a twenty-four-year-old Baha‘i
who began advocating for human rights after he was
denied access to
higher education, was
sentenced to 12 years in prison
after
being
convicted of ―engaging in human rights activities,‖ ―illegal assembly,‖ and
―disturbance of
the general public‘s opinion.‖ In August
2011, a Revolutionary Court upheld his prison term.
Although he remains
out of prison and has yet to
begin
serving this sentence,
the Iranian authorities
continue to harass him through a barrage of intimidation,
threats, and summonses.
Although the Iranian government
maintains
publicly that Baha‘is are
free to attend university,
reports over the past year indicate that
the
de facto policy of preventing
Baha‘is
from obtaining
higher education remains in effect.
Of the very few Baha‘is who
were enrolled
in universities in
recent years,
most were expelled once their
religious beliefs
became known. Furthermore,
during the past
few
years, young
Baha‘i
schoolchildren in primary and
high schools
increasingly have been vilified, pressured
to convert to Islam, and
in some cases expelled
on account of their
religion.
In recent years, emboldened by
Iranian
law and policy, militant societal actors
have physically attacked Baha‘is
and committed
violent acts, including arson
on Baha‘i homes
and businesses, with impunity.
A
recent
wave of arson attacks
on Baha‘i-owned businesses in
Rafsanjan appears
to be part of a campaign to
fracture relationships
between Baha‘is
and Muslims in the city.
Since
October 2010, nearly two dozen
shops have been attacked and at
least
20 Baha‘i homes and businesses have received letters warning that Baha‘is will
suffer severe consequences for
forming friendships
with Muslims.
Christians
During the reporting period, the number
of incidents of Iranian authorities
raiding
church services, harassing and threatening church members,
and arresting, convicting, and
imprisoning
worshippers and church leaders increased significantly.
Christians, particularly Evangelical and other
Protestants, are subject
to harassment, arrests, close
surveillance, and imprisonment; many are reported
to have fled the country. Indigenous Assyrian
and Armenian Christian
religious leaders also have
been targeted.
Since becoming president, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has
called
for
an end to the development of
Christianity in Iran.
The government requires Evangelical
Christian groups
to submit congregational membership
lists.
Since June 2010,
approximately 300 Christians have been arbitrarily arrested and
detained throughout the country,
including in Arak, Bandar Abbas, Bandar
Mahshahr, Ardabil,
Tabriz, Khoramabad, Mashhad, Hamadan, Rasht, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Elam. In cases involving offenses based on religious
belief, Iranian authorities
typically release prisoners,
but leave the charges
against them or
their convictions in place in order to be able
to threaten them with
re- imprisonment
at any future time.
On
February 8, 2012, Iranian authorities
raided a house church gathering in Shiraz,
confiscated religious materials, and arrested 10 Christian
converts. At the end
of the reporting period,
at least seven
remain
in detention
without charge.
In late
December
2011, Iranian authorities raided an Assemblies of God
church in Ahvaz,
southwestern Iran, and
arrested all attendees.
While most were released within
days, pastor Farhad Sabokroh
and another member reportedly were released
on bail after serving two months
in prison. No charges
have been filed.
In September 2011,
several
leaders of
a Christian house church
network in various parts of
the country were arrested. Behnam Irani, a 41-year-old
pastor from Karaj, Iran, was
convicted of crimes against national
security in January 2011 and
sentenced to one year in prison.
He started serving his sentence in May 2011 and
learned in October that
he would have to
serve five years
in connection with a previous conviction.
In April 2011
in the northern Iranian
city of Bandar
Anzali,
11 members of the Church of Iran
were arrested and charged with ―acting against national security‖ and consuming alcohol. The following month, all 11
were tried and
acquitted by a Revolutionary court on grounds that the group was performing a legitimate
private religious ceremony protected under Article 13 of
the constitution.
In December 2010 and
January 2011 alone, approximately 120 Christians were arrested. While most were released within
days, at
the
end of the reporting period, a
number of pastors remain jailed amid reports of
physical and emotional abuse. For example,
Farshid Fathi and
Noorollah Qabitizade,
two Christian converts
arrested in December 2010, remain in
prison without charge, and
have spent a number
of months in solitary confinement.
Pastor
Mehdi Furutan was arrested in January 2011
and
charged with crimes
against national
security and blasphemy against Islam.
Although acquitted on the blasphemy charge and
released
on bail a month later,
Furutan was sentenced to one year in prison.
He began
serving his
sentence in September 2011.
In September 2010,
pastor Vahik Abrahamian,
his wife Sonia Keshish-Avanesian,
Arash Kermanjani, and Arezo
Teymouri were arrested at Abrahamian‘s
home in Hamadan.
All four were held in
solitary confinement for 40 days and reportedly suffered physical
abuse and psychological
pressure. The four were charged with
propagating Christianity, opposing the Islamic Republic, and
having contact
with exiled
opposition figures. Kermanjani,
Teymouri, and
Ketish-Avanesian were released
in April 2011 and Abrahamian
in August 2011.
In June 2010, Christian pastor
Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani,
Mohammad Baliad, Parviz Khalaj,
and
Nazly Beliad were
arrested on charges of apostasy, holding political
meetings,
blasphemy, and
―crimes against the Islamic order.‖ The Revolutionary Court in Shiraz found
the four men
guilty of crimes against the Islamic order and
sentenced each
to one year
in prison. After serving
eight
months, they were released
on bail in February 2011.
In September
2011, a Shiraz appeals
court upheld a one-year
sentence on another charge of ―propaganda against the
regime‖ against the same four individuals,
as well as against a fifth Christian,
Amin
Afshar Manesh.
Christian pastor
Yousef Nadarkhani, jailed since October 2009, was sentenced to death
for apostasy in November 2010 by a court in Gilan province. Prosecutors acknowledged
he had never been
a Muslim as an
adult but said the apostasy law
still applies because
he
has Islamic ancestry. Rejecting his appeal
in June 2011, the court suspended the sentence contingent upon his recanting his
faith,
which he refused to
do during hearings in September. At
the
end of the reporting period,
he remains imprisoned,
reportedly awaiting
an opinion from Supreme Leader
Khamenei, although unconfirmed reports surfaced in February 2012 that a provincial court
had renewed Nadarkhani‘s execution
order.
According to human rights groups, Iran‘s
judiciary has
ordered the verdict to
be delayed, possibly until late
2012, hoping that he will recant
at some point before then.
Rhetoric
from political and
religious leaders
demonizing and insulting the Christian community
also has increased
significantly.
In August 2011,
6,500 Bibles
were
confiscated as they were being transported
between
the cities of Zanjan and Ahbar
in the northwestern province. Commenting on the confiscation, a high-level government
official said that Christian
missionaries
were attempting to deceive people, especially the youth,
with an expensive
propaganda campaign. In
January 2011, the governor of
Tehran, Morteza Tamaddon, publicly
referred
to detained
Christians as
―deviant‖ and
―corrupt‖ and vowed
to identify and
detain more. He likened
Evangelical Christians to the Taliban
and accused them
of placing ―themselves
within the religion
of Islam
like a pest and under the cover
of Christianity and with the support of
England they have designed a movement.‖
Zoroastrians and
Sabean Mandaeans
In recent years, members of
the indigenous Zoroastrian community have come
under increasing
repression and
discrimination.
In August
2011, a Zoroastrian
man, Mohsen Sadeghipour, began
serving a four-and-a-half year prison
term, having been charged and convicted of propaganda of
the Zoroastrian faith. Several
of his relatives were convicted and imprisoned in 2010 on blasphemy and
other charges.
Over the
past few years,
the
unrecognized
Sabean Mandaean religious
community, numbering
between 5,000 and 10,000
people, has been facing intensifying
official harassment.
There continue to be reports that members of the Sabean Mandaean community experienced societal discrimination and pressure to
convert to Islam,
and they were
often denied access
to higher education. In
2011, nearly 300 Sabean Mandaean families reportedly fled
the country.
Jews
and Anti-Semitism
In recent years, official
policies promoting anti-Semitism have risen sharply in Iran, and
members of the Jewish community have been
targeted
on the basis of real
or perceived ties
to Israel. President Ahmadinejad and other top political
and clerical leaders
have made public remarks during the reporting period actively denying the Holocaust
and calling for the
elimination of the
state of Israel.
In 2011, there continued to be
officially-sanctioned
anti-
Semitic propaganda,
involving official statements,
media
outlets, publications, and
books. In
recent years,
in line with a stepped-up
state-sponsored
campaign, numerous
programs broadcast
on
state-run television advanced anti-Semitic messages, a prominent newspaper
held
a Holocaust denial editorial cartoon contest,
and the Iranian government
sponsored a Holocaust
denial conference.
Anti-Semitic editorial
cartoons
depicting demonic and
stereotypical images of Jews, along with Jewish symbols,
also were published in the past year.
Official government
discrimination
against Jews
continues to be
pervasive, fostering a threatening atmosphere for the approximately 25,000-30,000
member Jewish community.
According to the State Department, despite minimal
restrictions on Jewish
religious practice, education
of Jewish children
has become increasingly difficult
in recent years,
and distribution of Hebrew
religious texts
is
strongly discouraged.
Women’s Rights
The government‘s enforcement
of its official interpretation
of Islam
negatively affects the human rights
of women in Iran,
including their freedoms of movement, association, and thought,
conscience, and
religion or belief, as
well as
freedom from
coercion in
matters of religion
or belief. The Iranian justice system
does
not grant women the same legal status as men. For example,
testimony by a man
is equivalent to the testimony of two women.
Civil and penal code provisions, in particular those dealing with family and
property law,
discriminate against women.
For example,
men
can
marry up to four permanent wives and
an infinite number of ―temporary wives‖ at
any
one time. Men also have the absolute right to
divorce while women may initiate
divorce only under certain
conditions, some of which must have been agreed to in
the marriage contract.
Mothers have custody rights
over children only until
they reach
the
age of seven, after
which fathers have automatic custody. The age of adult criminal responsibility for girls is
nine years old, but for boys
is 15. Men have complete
immunity from punishment for murdering adulterous
wives and their lovers.
Women convicted of adultery may be stoned to death.
During the reporting period, Iranian authorities heightened their enforcement
of the strict Islamic dress
code for women. By law, Iranian women,
regardless
of their religious affiliation
or belief, must
be covered from
head
to foot while in public.
Social interaction between
unrelated men
and women is
banned. Iran‘s ―morality police‖ increased
their presence in the
streets throughout
the
country and more frequently stopped
cars
with young men and
women inside to question their relationship.
Over the
past few years, many key women‘s rights activists
have been arrested, and
some remain in prison, for their
involvement in the Campaign for Equality movement aimed
at ending discrimination against women in the application
of Islamic law in Iran.
For example,
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a member of the Equality movement
and human rights defender, was
arrested
in September 2010
and charged with ―propaganda against the
regime,‖ ―acting against national security,‖ and failing to adhere to
the
Islamic dress code.
In January 2011, Sotoudeh
was sentenced to 11 years
in prison
and barred from practicing law and
from leaving the country for
20 years.
In September, an
appeals court
reduced her sentence to six years.
She remains
in Evin prison, where she has spent
much
of her time in solitary confinement. Bahareh Hedayat,
a student leader and a member
of the Equality movement, was
arrested in December 2009 and sentenced in May 2010 to
nine-and-a-half years in
prison on trumped-up charges of ―assembly
and collusion against the regime,‖ ―insulting the Supreme Leader,‖ and ―insulting the
President.‖
She remains in Evin prison.
Women also have been
sentenced to death under Islamic law. For example, Sakineh Ashtiani, an
Azeri
woman, was convicted
of adultery in
2006 and sentenced
to death by stoning. In
October
2010,
when rumors surfaced that Ashtiani‘s impending death
sentence would be carried
out within days, an international
outcry helped delay it.
In December 2011,
the
Iranian government indicated it is
considering carrying out
the
death sentence by hanging instead of stoning. She remains in prison.
Crackdown on Internet Freedom, the Media, and
Human Rights Defenders
In January 2011, Iranian authorities formed a ―cyber police force‖ to strengthen the
government‘s control
of the Internet. This entity has cracked down on allegedly destructive
online networks and arrested
hundreds of individuals.
Authorities issued a ―list of Internet offences‖ which
includes content
―contrary to
the morals of society‖ and contrary to
religious
values. In addition, it is prohibited
to sell filter circumvention software in the
country.
Since the June 2009
disputed election,
the Iranian government has
cracked down
on and arbitrarily arrested
dozens of
human rights defenders and
activists
who have reported on human rights violations, including violations
of freedom of religion
or belief. The crackdown
has included cyber attacks
on Persian
and English language Web sites of several human rights groups,
which limited these groups‘
ability to
send reports outside the country on human rights and
religious freedom
abuses. In addition, the Iranian
government
took
steps to prevent
its citizens from
freely communicating and receiving
information through television,
radio satellite
broadcasting,
and the Internet, including information related to violations
of freedom of religion
or belief.
Iranian authorities regularly detain and harass journalists and bloggers who write anything critical of the
Islamic revolution
or the Iranian government.
The government
requires bloggers
to
register their
Web
sites with the Ministry of Art and Culture.
Government officials reportedly
claim to have blocked millions of Web
sites, particularly since the June 2009
elections.
Pending legislation would make the creation of blogs
promoting ―corruption, prostitution, and apostasy‖ punishable by death.
In January 2012, at
least 10 Iranian
journalists were arrested as part
of a
heightened crackdown on dissent ahead of the March
2 parliamentary elections.
Several have been
charged
with being an ―enemy of
God,‖ ―propaganda against the
regime,‖ and
―insulting the Supreme Leader.‖
In November 2008, well-known Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein
Derakhshan
was arrested in Tehran
while visiting the country and
remains
in the notorious Evin prison.
According to human rights groups,
Derakhshan was
physically and psychologically abused while in prison. In September
2010, Branch 15 of the
revolutionary court
sentenced Derakhshan to 19-and-a-half years in prison on a number of
charges,
including propaganda against the regime and ―insulting sanctities.‖
In September
2010, the revolutionary court sentenced
Emadeddin Baghi, a journalist and
activist, to a six-year prison term
and five years of
―civil deprivation‖ on
charges of
―engaging in propaganda against the system‖ and ―colluding against the security of the regime.‖ The basis for his conviction was his interview
of dissident cleric Grand
Ayatollah
Montazeri, which was
aired
on BBC‘s Persian
language service in
December 2009. He was released in June
2011
while in the midst of a hunger
strike. He spent
much
of his time in prison in solitary
confinement.
Government Rejection
of UN Reports and Actions
In February 2010, at the Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) of Iran conducted by the UN Human Right
Council (UNHRC), the government of Iran rejected a number of
recommendations
from countries urging it to comply with its
international human rights
responsibilities, including those
related to freedom of
religion or belief.
The Iranian government agreed to a few
recommendations
that, if fully implemented
in practice,
would advance religious freedom in
the country. Such
recommendations include
upholding constitutional
provisions guaranteeing freedom
of worship,
respecting freedom
of religion, protecting
religious minorities,
and ensuring a fair and transparent
trial
for the seven Baha‘i leaders
as
guaranteed
under international
human
rights treaties
to which Iran
is a party. In June 2010,
the UNHRC concluded the UPR of Iran.
Despite accepting a few
recommendations, Iran largely defied calls
by
the international
community to
address its most serious
violations. At the
June
2010 UNHRC session, 54 countries, including the United States, issued
a joint statement
condemning Iran‘s
human rights and
religious freedom
record and
calling on Iran to
implement fully the
UPR
recommendations, including taking ―all measures
necessary to ensure
the protection of religious
minorities.‖
In March
2011, the UNHRC created
a new Special Rapporteur position
to investigate and
report
on human rights abuses in Iran,
a longstanding USCIRF recommendation. This is
the first new rapporteur position
focusing on a specific country since
the UNHRC‘s creation in
2006. A UN special investigator position
focusing on human rights in Iran
has not existed since 2002.
On August 1, 2011, Ahmed Shaheed, the former
Maldivian
foreign minister, started in his
new role as special rapporteur.
At
the end of the reporting
period, the Iranian government had
not responded to the Special Rapporteur‘s request
to visit Iran, although
various Iranian
officials
have said publicly he would
never be permitted in the country. In
October 2011, the Special
Rapporteur released his first
report which focused on a wide range of
violations, including those
faced
by
Baha‘is, Christians, Sufi
and Sunni Muslims, and dissident
Shi‘a Muslims.
In September 2011, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
issued a report on the situation
of human rights in Iran,
which
included details of abuses, including arbitrary detentions
and false imprisonment, against religious minorities, particularly Baha‘is
and Christians. In
December
2011,
for
the ninth year in
a row, the U.S. government co-sponsored and supported a
successful UN General Assembly resolution on
human rights in Iran, which
passed
89 to 30, with 64 abstentions, the highest vote margin yet.
The resolution
condemned the Iranian
government‘s
poor human rights record, including
its continued abuses targeting religious minorities.
U.S.
Policy
The U.S. government has not
had diplomatic relations with the government of Iran for over
30 years, and U.S. law
prohibits nearly all trade with Iran. The United
States has
imposed sanctions on Iran
because
of its sponsorship of terrorism,
refusal to comply with International
Atomic Energy Agency regulations
regarding its nuclear
program, and,
in 2010 for the first time, severe
human rights and religious freedom
violations. According to the State Department, these sanctions
target
the
Iranian
government,
not the people of Iran. As a result,
there are a number
of exemptions,
including exports of U.S.
agricultural
and medical products, U.S.
donations of humanitarian articles, and U.S. imports
of Iranian carpets and certain
food items.
Beginning in
early 2010, and especially since the uprisings started
in the Arab
world in early
2011,
the U.S. government
more frequently has
expressed support for reformers
in Iran and highlighted
publicly the Iranian government‘s human
rights
and religious
freedom abuses. During the reporting period,
in multilateral
fora and through public statements, high-level
U.S. officials urged the Iranian government
to respect
its citizens‘ human rights,
including the
right to
religious freedom.
For example, in February 2012, both the White House and State Department
released
statements citing reports
that pastor Youcef
Nadarkhani‘s execution order had
been
renewed,
and called
for the lifting of
the death sentence and for his immediate release.
In
September 2011,
the White House released a statement condemning the Nadarkhani‘s
conviction
and calling for his
release.
Also in September,
Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton
released a statement expressing concern about
the
treatment of other religious minorities
in Iran.
In
March
2011,
President
Obama delivered his third
annual Persian
new
year (Nowruz) message. The President
directed this message to the people of Iran,
particularly the youth,
and stated that the Baha‘i
community and Sufi Muslims are ―punished for their faith‖ and
that ―hundreds
of prisoners of conscience‖ remain in prison.
Since 2010,
the United States
and the European
Union (EU) have worked closely together
on a range of human
rights
issues in Iran. In April 2011,
the EU imposed travel bans and
asset freezes on 32
Iranian officials
responsible for serious
human rights abuses. In October, the EU added another 29 officials to
the list. In addition,
the
United States and
EU issued a number
of statements in tandem conveying similar messages condemning human rights and religious
freedom abuses in Iran.
On July 1, 2010, President Obama
signed into
law CISADA,
the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment
Act (P.L. 111-195), which
highlights Iran‘s serious human rights violations,
including suppression of
religious freedom.
CISADA
requires the
President to submit to Congress a list of Iranian
government
officials, or persons acting on their
behalf, who are responsible for human rights and religious freedom abuses,
bars their entry into the
United
States, and freezes
their assets. President Obama issued
an
executive order
in September 2010 sanctioning eight Iranian officials for
having committed
serious human rights
abuses after the June 2009 elections.
Since then, the President has added
five more Iranian officials and
three
Iranian government
entities to the list. USCIRF long had called
for the U.S. government to
identify Iranian officials and
entities
responsible for severe religious
freedom violations
and impose travel
bans and asset
freezes on those individuals,
and had specifically identified
seven of the officials named in the executive order and
an eighth named
in June 2011. No existing or
previous Iran sanction measures had provisions dealing with human rights violations.
USCIRF worked
with Congressional
offices on the need
to develop such
sanctions.
Several
pieces
of legislation were introduced in the 112th Congress to
increase sanctions on Iranian
human rights abusers.
The Iran
Human Rights and Democracy Promotion Act
of 2011 (S. 879 / H.R. 1714), introduced in May 2011, would mandate investigations of Iranian human rights
abusers,
forbid the sale to Iran of
equipment that could
be used to suppress demonstrations,
reauthorize the Iran Freedom Support Act, and
create a ―Special Representative‖
position at the Department
of State to highlight Iran‘s
human rights abuses. This legislation
is intended, in part, to build
on several human
rights-related provisions of CISADA.
Elements of these bills are also contained in broader Iran sanctions bills,
H.R. 1905 and S. 1048, the former of
which passed the full House in December
2011.
In July 2011,
the United States and
United Kingdom
imposed visa restrictions
on more than 50
Iranian government
officials and
other individuals who were responsible for or participated
in human rights abuses, including
government ministers,
military and law
enforcement officers, and
judiciary and prison
officials. This action was
taken
under the authority of the Immigration and
Nationality Act
(INA). Under INA, visa
records are confidential, including the names of individuals subject to
specific visa bans.
The U.S. government seeks to increase Iranian citizens‘
access to
information about international human rights standards and
to publicize the Iranian
government‘s human rights abuses
through
Voice of America radio
and television broadcasts, the Persian-language version of the America.gov
Web
site, and the Persian-language radio station
Radio Farda, which broadcasts to Iran. Additionally, since 2004,
the U.S. government
has funded a wide range of
programs to
support civil society, human
rights,
and the rule of
law in Iran, as well as expand
the free flow of information
and the documentation
of human rights abuses in Iran. The State Department
does
not name grantees for
security reasons.
According to
USAID, funding in 2011-2012
will continue to include support for civil society and
advocacy,
promoting the rule of law and human rights, and increasing access
to alternative
sources of information
in Iran. In Fiscal Years
2010 and 2011, no request was
made for specific democracy or
human rights programming, although
some portion of the $40 million requested
for Near East
democracy programs
likely
was used to support continued human rights and public
diplomacy programming
in Iran.
In Fiscal year
2012, $35 million was requested for similar
programming as 2010 and 2011.
Recommendations
In response to the systematic,
ongoing, and
egregious
violations of religious freedom,
and the repressive policies
and practices repeatedly and
routinely imposed by the Iranian government,
the U.S. government should continue to
work closely with its
European and other allies, in bilateral and multilateral fora,
to apply pressure
on the Iranian government
through a
combination of
advocacy, diplomacy, and
targeted sanctions
with the aim of halting the
government‘s human rights and religious freedom violations.
I. Stopping Abuses
of Freedom of Religion or Belief and Supporting
Human Rights
and
Democracy
In addition to continuing to designate Iran as a CPC,
the U.S. government should:
continue to speak out publicly and frequently at
the
highest levels about the severe religious freedom abuses
in Iran,
and draw attention to the need
for the international community to
hold Iranian authorities accountable in specific cases, including by calling
on the Iranian government to:
--release the
seven Baha‘i leaders – Fariba Kamalabadi,
Jamaloddin
Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet,
Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid
Tizfahm – and the six
Baha‘i educators, as
well as other
Baha‘is
in prison on account of their religion
or belief, and
drop all charges against those Baha‘is
who have cases pending
against them;
-- rescind immediately laws that
permit members of the
Baha‘i faith to be killed
with
impunity, permit
the
Baha‘i community to practice their
faith in Iran,
and
allow full access
for Baha‘is to study in
public universities without discrimination;
--release all Christians, including Youcef Nadarkhani, Farshid Fathi, Noorollah Qabitizade, and
Mehdi Furutan, in prison
on account of their religion
or belief, and drop
all
pending charges against Christian
converts;
--release Shi‘a cleric Ayatollah Mohammad
Kazemeni Boroujerdi and his followers
and other dissident Muslims, including Sufis,
in prison on account of their
religion
or belief; and
--halt state-sponsored acts of anti-Semitism
and Holocaust denial promotion
campaigns, and, while vigorously protecting freedom of expression,
counteract anti-Semitic rhetoric
and other organized anti-Semitic activities
by
the President and other high-level government
officials;
work within its current overall policy framework to
ensure that violations
of freedom of religion or belief
and
related human rights are part of all formal and
informal multilateral
or bilateral discussions with
representatives
of the Iranian government,
including by pressing the Iranian government to:
--release all prisoners
of conscience, including members
of Muslim and non-Muslim religious
communities identified above;
--release from
prison women‘s rights activists, including Nasrin Sotoudeh and Bahareh Hedayat,
who advocate
for
ending discrimination against women in the application of Islamic law in Iran, and Sakineh Ashtiani,
who remains on death row for
allegedly
committing adultery;
--release from prison
human rights defenders, activists, and
journalists, including Hossein
Derakhshan,
who have been
targeted
for
reporting on human rights and religious freedom abuses
in Iran;
--cease all messages
of hatred and intolerance, particularly toward Jews and Baha‘is,
in the government-controlled
media
and remove the government-appointed editor of Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari; and
--cease the jamming of satellite
broadcasting and Internet censorship and ensure the right
to freedom
of expression as set
out in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights,
to which Iran is a party;
use appropriated Internet freedom
funds to develop free,
secure email
access for
use in Iran; facilitate
the provision of high-speed Internet access via satellite; and distribute immediately
proven and field-tested counter-censorship programs in
order to prevent the arrest and harassment of religious freedom
and human rights activists
and help them maintain their freedom
of expression and legitimate expectations of privacy;
ensure that funding budgeted to promote democracy and human
rights in Iran
includes support for effective initiatives advancing freedom of religion
or belief, as
well as ways
to promote rule of law and human
rights
defenders programs that specifically seek to protect religious
minorities in Iran; and
fund U.S. public
diplomacy entities adequately, such as
Voice of America and
Radio Farda, and expand
and develop new
programming focusing
solely on the situation of human rights, including the freedom
of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, in Iran.
II. Imposing
Targeted Sanctions for Human Rights
and Religious Freedom Violations
The U.S. government should:
continue to
identify Iranian government agencies and
officials responsible for particularly severe violations of religious
freedom, including but
not limited to:
--Supreme Leader
Ayatollah
Ali
Khamenei;
--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad;
--Sadegh Ardeshir Larijani, Head
of the Judiciary;
--Ayatollah Ahmad
Jannati, Chair, Guardian
Council;
--Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi
Mesbah Yazdi, Assembly of Experts
--Hossein Shariatmadari, Managing Editor, Kayhan
--Mohammad Moghiseh, Presiding Judge of Branch
28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts;
--Abbas Pir-Abbassi, Presiding Judge of Branch
26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts; and
--Abolghassem
Salavati, Presiding Judge of Branch 15 of
the Islamic Revolutionary Courts;
and
continue to bar from entry into the United
States
and freeze the assets of
Iranian government officials identified
as having engaged
in particularly severe
religious freedom
violations, including but not
limited to those listed above,
and,
where appropriate,
their immediate family members.
III. Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief and Related Human Rights in
Multilateral Fora
The U.S. government should:
call on the UN Human
Rights
Council (UNHRC) to
follow up vigorously on Iran‘s
compliance with the recommendations
from the February 2010 UPR,
including those related to freedom
of religion or belief;
continue to support an annual
UN General Assembly resolution condemning severe violations
of human rights, including freedom
of religion
or belief, in Iran, and calling for
officials responsible for such violations
to be held accountable;
press
for a resolution condemning severe violations of human
rights in Iran, including freedom of religion or belief, at
the
UNHRC;
call on Iran
to cooperate fully with
the
UN Special
Rapporteur on
the Human Rights
Situation in Iran, including allowing the Special Rapporteur to visit;
call on the UNHRC
to monitor carefully and demand Iran‘s
compliance with
the recommendations
of those UN special representatives who
have already visited Iran,
particularly the Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Religion
or Belief (1995), the Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention
(2003), the Special Rapporteur on
the Right to Freedom
of Opinion and Expression
(2003), and the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component
of the right to an
adequate
standard of living and on
the right to non- discrimination in
this context (2005); and
encourage the UNHRC to continue to use its existing procedures
to maintain
oversight of conditions
for freedom of religion
or belief in Iran, including continued visits
and reporting by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief,
the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression,
and other relevant special rapporteurs and
working groups, to which Iran has issued
a standing invitation.
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