Aug 14, 2023

USCIRF Calls On Congress to Protect Religious Minorities Fleeing Iran

Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) again called on Congress to reauthorize the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendment, a family reunification program providing a legal path for resettlement for Iranian religious minorities fleeing government persecution. Congress enacted the Amendment in 1990 to help resettle religious minorities including Jews, Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Autocephalous Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox people from the former Soviet Union. The Specter Amendment in 2004 expanded the program to Iranian religious minorities. The program requires annual reauthorization by both the House of Representatives and Senate.  

“The Lautenberg Amendment is a lifeline for at-risk Iranian Christians, Jews, Baha’is, Zoroastrians, and Mandean/Sabeans, whose fates hang in the balance,” said USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper, who spoke about the amendment at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in July 2023. “USCIRF calls on Congress to again reauthorize the Lautenberg Amendment, sending an unmistakable bipartisan message that the United States is committed to advancing the values of religious freedom upon which it was founded.”

Iranian religious minorities who qualify for resettlement under the Lautenberg amendment undergo a rigorous set of security and background checks by U.S. law enforcement agencies while still outside the United States. During this period and upon resettlement, they are sponsored and financially supported by family members who live in the United States. Since 1990, the program has saved approximately 30,000 people from the Iranian government’s severe persecution of religious minorities.

“For over three decades, the Lautenberg Amendment has embodied American leadership on advancing freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie. “Reauthorizing the Amendment will again set a shining example for like-minded governments around the world of America’s commitment to the protection of religious freedom around the world.”

In January 2023, USCIRF convened a hearing on Religious Freedom and Women’s Rights in Iran at which panelists urged the U.S. government to continue the Lautenberg program. As it has done for several consecutive years, USCIRF recommended in its 2023 Annual Report that Congress again reauthorize the Amendment and expand the program’s capacity at a time of heightened Iranian religious persecution. USCIRF’s Frank R. Wolf Victims List includes 332 religious detainees from 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].

 

Additional Name(s): ماریا خانجانی

Gender: Female

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Bahá`í

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: August/13/2023

Date of Release: September/13/2023

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Association Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Maria Khanjani

Extra Bio Info:

Maria Khanjani was detained or her religious association. 

On August 13, 2023, security forces apprehended Khanjani and her father Jamaloddin Khanjani and took them to Evin Prison. The specific grounds for their detention, as well as the charges against them, remain undisclosed.

On September 13, 2023, Khanjani was reportedly released on bail.

Maria's father formerly served as a manager for a dissolved Baha’i group named “Yaran e Iran” or “Friends of Iran,” an organization that aimed to address the spiritual and social needs of the Baha’i community.

Related Cases: Jamaloddin Khanjani

Sources:

Additional Name(s): Bakhram Saparov, Bahram Jumanazarowich Saparow

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Turkmenistan

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 15 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: March/9/2013

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Attending a Religious Gathering or Meeting Religious Activity Religious Association Religious Belief Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role Religious Instruction & Teaching

Nature of Charges: Arms Trafficking & Illicit Use of Weapons Banned Organization Hate Speech Theft & Robbery Treason & Sedition

Bahram Saparov

Extra Bio Info:

Bahram Saparov is imprisoned for his religious activities.

On March 9, 2013, authorities arrested Saparov for leading an unregistered Muslim community. Since 2007, Saparov organized meetings in homes to study and learn about Hanafi Sunni Islam. Authorities also arrested that same day twenty other Muslims who were members of Saparov’s community.

On May 22, 2013, the Lebap Regional Court in Turkmenabad convicted Saparov reportedly for "conspiracy to seize power" (Art. 174-1 TCC), "calls to violent change of the constitutional order" (Art. 175-2 TCC), “inciting social, national, ethnic, racial or religious hostility” (Art. 177-3 TCC), "creating an organized criminal group" (Art. 275-1 TCC), “participating in an organized criminal group” (Art. 275-2 TCC), and “theft or extortion of firearms, its accessories, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices” (Art. 291 TCC). Saparov was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

On July 4, 2014, Saparov was reportedly convicted of theft (Art. 227-4 TCC) and “participating in an organized criminal group” (Art. 275-2 TCC). Saparov was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

On June 7, 2016, Saparov was reportedly convicted of theft (Art. 227-2 TCC) and robbery (Art. 231-2). Saparov was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Saparov’s sentences were combined ending at the completion of the latest sentence.

In September 2016, a source who had last seen Saparov in late 2014 told Forum 18 that prison officers had beaten Saparov so badly that his face was unrecognizable.

In November 2016, the government submitted to the UN Committee against Torture in Geneva that Saparov was serving his sentence in Ovadan-Depe Prison.

Sources:
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