Additional Name(s): سعیده خضوعی

Gender: Female

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Bahá`í

Health Concerns: Migraines

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: April//2022

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Saeedeh Khozui

Extra Bio Info:

Saeedeh Khozui was detained in relation to her religious belief and activity.

On April 11, 2022, Khozui was reportedly arrested after appearing at a courthouse.

On May 24, 2022, Khozui was reportedly released on bail.

Publicly Available Information:

Additional Name(s): فریبا دلیر

Gender: Female

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 2 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: April//2022

Date of Sentencing: December//2021

Date of Release: October/18/2022

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity

Nature of Charges: Banned Organization

Fariba Dalir

Extra Bio Info:

Fariba Dalir was imprisoned for practicing her religion as a convert.

In July 2021, authorities arrested Dalir and five other converts from Islam to Christianity, including her at the time fiancé now husband, Soroush, reportedly for belonging to an Evangelical Christian church.

Dalir and Soroush were released on bail after spending two months in pre-trial detention. Dalir was also subjected to prolonged solitary confinement while imprisoned.

In December 2021, Dalir was sentenced to two years in prison. United For Iran lists the charge as "founding or leading an organization that aims to disrupt national security" (Art. 498 IPC), while Article 18 reports the charge as “acting against national security by establishing and leading an Evangelical Christian church."

In April 2022, Dalir reportedly began serving her sentence in Evin Prison.

On October 18, 2022, Dalir was reportedly released from prison. 

Publicly Available Information:

May 10

WHEN:

May 10th 10:30am - May 10th 12:00pm

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Freedom of Religion or belief in Syria

Tuesday, May 10, 2022
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Virtual Hearing

Hearing Transcript

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a virtual hearing that examined current conditions in Syria affecting freedom of religion or belief, and highlighted opportunities for U.S. policy to support Syria’s diverse religious and ethnic communities in formulating a political solution for the country.

Religious freedom in Syria remains threatened from numerous quarters. The regime of President Bashar al-Assad systematically discriminates against members of religious groups outside the President’s own Alawi branch of Islam, destroys religious minorities’ houses of worship during clashes with opposition groups, and actively strips both religious minorities and the Sunni Muslim majority of their autonomy and religious authority. Armed opposition forces and militant Islamist groups target vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities in their attempts to wrest power from the Assad regime and one another. The al-Qaeda offshoot Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) continues to brutalize and displace religious minority communities in the northwestern region of Idlib, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has increased its presence in eastern Syria, waging almost daily attacks and destabilizing the region for religious minorities. Turkish-supported Syrian armed opposition groups leverage their Turkish financing and military support to wage campaigns of religious and ethnic cleansing in Afrin.

In contrast, there are promising environments for religious freedom and intrareligious cooperation in Syria, including areas in the north and east governed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).

What is the status of religious freedom in each of Syria’s regions and under each of these political authorities?  How can U.S. government policy support Syrian-led efforts to create a political solution for the country that encompasses and actively advances religious freedom? Witnesses documented religious freedom conditions throughout the country and made recommendations for U.S. policy in relation to religious freedom in Syria.  

Opening Remarks

  • Nadine Maenza, Chair, USCIRF
    Written Remarks
  • Sharon Kleinbaum, Commissioner, USCIRF
    Written Remarks
  • Ethan Goldrich, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Panel I - Interview by Chair Maenza

Panel II

  • Thomas Pierret, Senior Researcher, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, France
    Written Testimony
  • Max Hoffman, Director, National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress 
    Written Testimony
  • David Phillips, Director, Peacebuilding, and Rights Program, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University
    Written Testimony
  • Dastan Jasim, Doctoral Researcher, German Institute for Global and Area Studies; Doctoral Student, the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg
    Written Testimony
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