USCIRF Condemns Destruction of Baha’i Homes in Iran

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today strongly condemned the destruction of Baha’i homes in the town of Roshan Kuh in Mazandaran Province, Iran.

"We strongly condemn Iran's destruction of Baha'i homes in Mazandaran Province, the latest example of its targeting of Baha’is,” said USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza. “It is imperative that the U.S. government impose individual sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for Baha’i persecution to hold them accountable for these outrageous actions.”

Following a court order in early 2020, Iran expropriated land owned for decades by 27 Baha’is in the village of Ivel in Mazandaran province in October of last year. The government has continued throughout 2021 to arrest, detain, and sentence Baha’is to years in prison, and intensify anti-Baha’i messaging over state-owned media outlets. Officials from Mazandaran’s Natural Resources Department, aided by police and officials from the Prosecutor’s Office of Mazandaran, reportedly conducted the most recent demolitions. National and local government agencies have long targeted Baha’is in Mazandaran province and the Iranian government has escalated its persecution of Baha’is across the country in 2021.

Iran’s parliament also passed two amendments to Iran’s penal code earlier this year that further criminalize the activities of Baha’is and other religious groups lacking official recognition by Iran’s government.

“The United States government must condemn Iran’s persecution of religious communities within its borders and its harassment of those who flee abroad,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Nury Turkel. “The Biden administration should also resettle the nearly eighty Iranians from religious minority communities who for years have been waiting in Vienna, Austria to come to the United States under the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendment.”

In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended for designation as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. In December 2020, the State Department redesignated Iran as a CPC. In December 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res. 823, a bipartisan bill that cited USCIRF’s reporting and condemned religious freedom violations against Baha’is in Iran. USCIRF spoke about religious restrictions in Iran on an episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast that aired in May 2021.

###

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]

USCIRF Commends Targeted Sanctions Against Religious Freedom Violators in Syria

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) applauded the U.S. government’s targeted sanctions against religious freedom violators in Syria, including the Turkish-backed militia Ahrar al-Sharqiya as well as individuals Ahmad Ihsan Fayyad al-Hayes, commonly known as Abu Hatem Shaqra, and Farrukh Fayzimatov.

“USCIRF commends the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury for sanctioning against key players involved in committing disastrous religious freedom violations in northern Syria,” USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza said. “These sanctions should be the first step of many in holding such perpetuators accountable.”

The U.S. Department of State sanctioned Ahrar al-Sharqiya for serious human rights abuses including abduction and torture, looting private property from civilians, and barring displaced Syrians from returning to their homes. Abu Hatem Shaqra, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury, is a leader of Ahrar al-Sharqiya and directly complicit in many of the militia’s abuses against religious and ethnic minorities, including the trafficking of Yazidi women and children.

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on Farrukh Fayzimatov for organizing fundraising campaigns to purchase equipment for the benefit of radical Islamist al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as recruiting more members through social media.

“These new sanctions send a strong message that the Biden administration will take swift action to address the continuing brutality and violence towards religious communities in Syria,” USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava added. “We urge the U.S. government to continue imposing targeted sanctions against militias, HTS representatives and others committing atrocities against religious communities in Syria, as laid out in USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report policy recommendations.”

In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended targeted sanctions on Syrian government agencies and officials, HTS principals, and the leadership of militias within the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations. As recommended by USCIRF, the State Department designated HTS as an Entity of Particular Concern, or EPC, for the first time in December 2020.

In June 2020, USCIRF held a hearing on Safeguarding Religious Freedom in Northeast Syria, and listed policy recommendations for the U.S. government.

###

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].