USCIRF Calls for UN Commission of Inquiry on Iran After Crackdowns on Protests Against Mandatory Hijab

Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today called on the Joseph R. Biden administration to spearhead the establishment of a United Nations (UN) Commission of Inquiry on Iran following weeks of brutal crackdowns, arrests, and killings of women peacefully protesting mandatory religious headscarf (hijab) laws. After Iran’s Morality Police killed 22 year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini on September 16 after detaining her for wearing “improper hijab,” Iranians took to the streets to protest these laws. Since then, Iran’s security forces have brutally repressed protestors and have killed members of religious minorities, including 19 Sunni worshippers leaving the Makki Mosque in Zahedan on September 30.

“Iran’s use of excessive and lethal force against protesters asserting their religious freedom is a deplorable violation of international law for which there must be full accountability,” said USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel. “Iranian protesters are asking that their voices be heard. We urge the Biden administration to support a UN Commission of Inquiry on Iran to ensure that Iranian security forces cannot silence Iranians seeking religious freedom with impunity.”

Iran’s government endorses a singular interpretation of Shi’a Islam and has mandated that women, regardless of their religious beliefs, wear hijab in public spaces. Since July, Iran has been more strictly enforcing this mandate, arresting women who are not “properly” veiled. Since the outbreak of protests, Iran has arrested scores of protesters and has killed nearly 200, including at least 23 minors. Nika Shakarami, 16, was arrested on September 20 after a protest against mandatory hijab and held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) before being transferred to Evin Prison. She died from “multiple blows to the head with a hard object,” before her body was secretly buried in Veysian without notifying her family. Sarina Esmailzadeh, also 16, was beaten by police with batons until she bled and the right side of her forehead was crushed at a protest in the Gohardasht neighborhood of Karaj on September 23, dying before she could receive medical care.

“The time is long overdue for Iranian security officials who repress those seeking freedom of religion to face accountability,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Abraham Cooper. “Iranians risking their lives for greater freedom of religion deserve the unwavering support of the international community. The Biden administration must pursue every available measure to unify a global coalition that will act decisively as Iranian security officials continue to respond with violence to appeals for greater religious freedom.”

In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Iran as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. USCIRF recently published a country update on religious freedom conditions in Iran so far in 2022, held a hearing on “State-Sanctioned Religious Freedom Violations and Coercion by Saudi Arabia and Iran,” highlighted the situation for religious prisoners of conscience in Iran on a USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, and published a report on Religious Propaganda in 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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].