Additional Name(s): Suri Babaei Chegini, سوری بابایی چگینی

Gender: Female

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Unspecified

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Protesting Religious Freedom Conditions Religious Appearance Resisting State-Imposed Religious Systems Women’s Rights

Nature of Charges: Immorality Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials

Soori Babaei Chegini

Extra Bio Info:

Soori Babaei Chegini was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On July 13, 2022, authorities arrested Chegini from her brother's home in Qazvin after she posted a video of herself in support of the "No to mandatory hijab" campaign and removing her religious head covering in public.

In January 2023, Chegini was reportedly released on bail.

In January 2023, Chegini was reportedly arrested again.

In April 2023, Chegini was reportedly released on bail again.

In April 2023, it was reported that Branch 102 of the Mohammadieh City Criminal Court of sentenced Chegini to one month in prison for "pretending to commit a forbidden act," and six months in prison for "inciting people to commit immoral acts."

In June 2023, it was reported that Branch 3 of the Qazvin Revolutionary Court sentenced Chegini to one year in prison for "propaganda against the regime."

Chegini reportedly went on hunger strike following her arrest. 

Publicly Available Information:

Jul 14, 2022

Last month, USCIRF traveled to Abuja, Nigeria and met with Nigerian and U.S. government officials, religious communities, civil society representatives, and human rights defenders to assess religious freedom conditions and discuss threats facing Nigerians of a range of faiths and worldviews. The trip came following the U.S. State Department’s November 2021 decision to remove Nigeria’s Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of international religious freedom after designating it as a CPC for the first time in 2020.

Commissioner Frederick A. Davie, who led that USCIRF delegation, joins us today to discuss his key takeaways from the trip and insight into USCIRF’s continued recommendation of Nigeria as a CPC.

Read USCIRF’s 2022 Annual Report Chapter on Nigeria

Jul 14, 2022

USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Repression in Iran

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

Iran Country Update – This country update reports on widespread religious repression in Iran. Baha’is, Christian converts, Sunnis, and Gonabadi Sufis in particular continue to face ongoing violations of their freedom of religion or belief. The Iranian government continues its widescale arrests of Baha’is, and despite a Supreme Court decision to the contrary, courts in Iran continue to convict Christians on national security charges for membership in house churches. The country update also notes the violation of religious freedom for women in Iran, including a recent crackdown on women not observing mandatory religious head covering laws, and lenient punishments rooted in religion for the perpetrators of so-called “honor killings.” It also notes the religious grounding of laws making Iran one of the few countries that actively executes gay men, and outlawing sexual contact between women.

In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S State Department designate Iran as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations. USCIRF recently held a hearing on “State-Sanctioned Religious Freedom Violations and Coercion by Saudi Arabia and Iran” and highlighted the situation for religious prisoners of conscience in Iran on an episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast.

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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 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].

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