USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Mr. Mohammed Ali Taheri Granted Asylum in Canada
USCIRF is elated by news that Iranian religious prisoner of conscience Mr. Mohammed Ali Taheri has been granted asylum in Canada. Mr. Taheri arrived in Toronto on March 8, 2020.
Apr 16, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2020
USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Mr. Mohammed Ali Taheri Granted Asylum in Canada
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is elated by news that Iranian religious prisoner of conscience Mr. Mohammed Ali Taheri has been granted asylum in Canada. Mr. Taheri arrived in Toronto on March 8, 2020.
“I am thrilled to hear of Mr. Taheri’s resettlement and congratulate his followers on this wonderful news. I also thank the government of Canada for its efforts to swiftly grant asylum to Mr. Taheri and allow him to join his family in Toronto,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin, who adopted Mr. Taheri as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “We urge the U.S. government to give safe haven to members of persecuted Iranian religious minorities like Mr. Taheri and his followers, beginning with those at-risk individuals who have been approved for resettlement under the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendment.”
Mohammed Ali Taheri is the founder of the mystic Erfan-e Halgheh movement. The Iranian government detained him in 2011 on blasphemy charges and passed down death sentences in 2011 and again in 2017, though Iran’s Supreme Court overturned both verdicts. In April 2019, he was released from prison but remained under house arrest and government surveillance. Mr. Taheri’s followers have also been persecuted for their membership in Erfan-e Halgheh, which includes Amirhossein Mirkhalili, who was sentenced in January 2020 to 10 years’ imprisonment on charges related to his involvement with the group, and for “propaganda activities against Islamic Republic.”
“While we are delighted by the news of Mr. Taheri’s newfound freedom, his plight is far too common in Iran, where the government is responsible for the egregious persecution of religious minorities, even during the current COVID-19 crisis,” said USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “The United States must continue to hold accountable those Iranian officials who are responsible for such violations, including through the use of targeted sanctions and visa bans.”
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected]