USCIRF Condemns Recent Arrests and Jailing of Baha’is in Iran

Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today condemned the Iranian government’s recent mass arrests and jailing of members of the Baha’i community. In recent months, scores of Baha’is have been arrested, tried, and jailed on religiously-grounded charges and targeted on the basis of their faith. Iran’s government considers Baha’is a “deviant sect of Islam” and systematically restricts their freedom of religion or belief.

“Iran’s renewed crackdown on Baha’is ahead of the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s killing demonstrates the worsening deterioration of religious freedom conditions,” said USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman. “The U.S. government should continue to support religious minorities in Iran by expediting general license applications allowing Iranians to receive critical support from abroad. It should also continue to support international efforts to hold Iranian officials accountable for these egregious religious freedom violations.”

While Iran has systematically persecuted Baha’is for decades, this persecution has increased amid nation-wide protests over mandatory hijab laws and other restrictions on freedom of religion or belief. In July, Iranian authorities arrested a group of Baha’is in Gilan province on accusations of “promoting Baha’i teachings.” Earlier this month, nine Baha’i women in Mashhad were summoned to appear in court and began serving sentences at Kachoui Prison and Karaj Central Prison on charges including educational and promotional activities against Shari’a. In addition, the Mashhad Revolutionary Court sentenced a Baha’i woman to ten years and three months in prison on the same charge, as well as a spate of additional spurious national security charges. Three members of Iran’s former Baha’i leadership remain in prison in 2023 despite having served a decade in prison on prior charges: Afif Naimi, Mahvash Sabet, and Fariba Kamalabadi.

“Iran’s contempt for basic human rights is evident in its loathsome persecution of Baha’is and use of religiously-grounded laws to restrict freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Commissioner Eric Ueland. “The Biden administration should continue to sanction officials responsible for these outrageous violations. Congress must also continue to convey in a bipartisan manner its support for protestors and the necessity to ensure safety to every Iranian religious minority suffering at the hands of this cruel regime.”

In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department redesignate Iran as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In April 2023, USCIRF released a report highlighting the sexual and gender based violence against religious freedom protestors in Iran. In May, USCIRF held a hearing on transnational repression and religious freedom, including repression by the government of Iran.

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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].