PRESS RELEASES | 13 MAR 2018
Despite some limited gestures of conciliation since the election of Hassan Rouhani in 2013, Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities are vilified, arrested and even executed on account of their beliefs or identity, says a group of human rights organisations in a new report.
The report finds that Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities are frequently subjected to hate speech and police intimidation, and routinely denied fundamental rights and opportunities.
Rights Denied Violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, by Minority Rights Group International (MRG), the Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), is published in the wake of major clashes between the Iranian authorities and demonstrators from the minority Gonabadi Sufi order, resulting in mass arrests and at least one death.
‘The recent crackdown shows that the Iranian authorities continue to view religious minorities as a security threat,’ says Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Chair of CSHR. ‘The arrest of hundreds of Gonabadi Sufis and intimidation of community members is a violation of their religious freedom and right to peaceful assembly.’
Iran’s Constitution guarantees religious freedoms, but it only extends these rights to Islam and three other recognized religions – Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism – whose members nonetheless face a range of legal discrimination. Meanwhile, practitioners of other faiths, including Bahá’ís, Sabean-Mandaeans and Yarsanis, are left with no guaranteed protections.
Click here to read the report
