Displaying results 1 - 93 of 93
Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is imprisoned for her activism and criticism of state-endorsed religious interpretations.
On September 26, 2022, authorities arrested Iraee from her home in…
Mohammad Roghangir was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
in October 2012, authorities arrested Roghangir, a member of the Church of Iran, after authorities raided a…
Youcef Nadarkhani was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On May 13, 2016, intelligence officials in Rasht…
Sevada Aghasar was imprisoned for his religious activity and being associated with religious converts.
In August 2013, authorities arrested Aghasar at the workplace of a friend in…
Majid Kashan was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On November 18, 2017, authorities arrested Kashan at a house-church. Kashan is believed to have been originally…
Naser Navard Goltapeh is imprisoned for his religious activity.
In February 2025, authorities detained Goltapeh and other Christians without charge and sent him to Evin Prison. …
Mohammad Ali Mosayebzadeh was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On May 13, 2016, authorities arrested Mosayebzadeh, a member of the Church of Iran, and several…
Mohammad Reza Omidi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On May 13, 2016, authorities arrested Omidi, a member of the Church of Iran, and several others…
Zaman Fadaei was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On May 13, 2016, authorities arrested Fadaei, a member of the Church of Iran, and several others while performing…
Ebrahim Firouzi was detained for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 8, 2021, authorities arrested Firouzi again after he released videos detailing the authorities'…
Mahrokh Ghanbari was imprisoned for practicing her religion as a convert.
In July 2019, authorities reportedly arrested Ghanbari. She was later released on bail. She was reportedly…
Fatemeh Bakhtari was imprisoned for practicing her religion as a convert.
In May 2017, authorities arrested Bakhtari and her husband, Zaman Fadaei, under unclear circumstances.…
Kamal Naamanian was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 15, 2019, authorities arrested Naamanian at a house-church. Other members of the…
Raymond Koh is forcibly disappeared for his religious activity.
On February 13, 2017, fifteen Royal Malaysian Police officers in three…
Amri Che Mat was forcibly disappeared for his religious activity.
On November 24, 2016, Mat, a Shi'a Muslim convert, was abducted while driving to visit a friend. According to…
Eli Abdulla is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity and philanthropy.
In mid-2016, Abdulla, a well-known businessman, went missing. He was presumed to have been arrested…
Jang Moon Seok was imprisoned for his religious activity.
In November 2014, Seok, a deacon, was abducted and transferred from China to a prison in North Korea for his evangelism,…
Emirulla Mehsum is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In 2018, authorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Mehsum and his brother. Their detentions…
Heyrulla Mehsum is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In 2018, authorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Mehsum and his brother. Their detentions…
Muyesser Haji Memet is imprisoned for her ethnoreligious identity.
In 2018, authorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Memet, a doctor. Her detention coincided…
Rizaydin Abdureshit is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity and in relation to his religiously oriented business.
In 2018, authorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR…
Emetjan is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity and in relation to his religiously oriented business.
In 2018, authorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)…
Hemitjan Hajim is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In or around May 2018, state security officials in Urumqi municipality, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), detained…
Abduweli Hajim is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In or around May 2018, state security officials in Urumqi municipality, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), detained Hajim…
Abdureshit Hoshur Hajim is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In or around May 2018, state security officials in Urumqi municipality, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR),…
Ablimit Hoshur Hajim is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In or around May 2018, state security officials in Urumqi municipality, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR),…
Mohammed al-Rabiah is imprisoned for his activism against state imposed religious systems.
On May 15, 2018, authorities arrested al-Rabiah amid a statewide crackdown on women's rights…
Behnam Akhlaghi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 23, 2019, Akhlaghi was summoned to the Revolutionary Guard office and detained…
Mehdi Khatibi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 23, 2019, authorities arrested Khatibi at a house-church. Other members of the Church of Iran…
Babak Hosseinzadeh was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 23, 2019, authorities arrested Hosseinzadeh while he was at a house-church. Other members of…
Shahrooz Eslamdoust was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 15, 2019, authorities arrested Eslamdoust at a house-church. Other members of the Church of Iran in…
Khalil Dehghanpur was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On January 29, 2019, authorities arrested Dehghanpur at a house-church. Other members of the Church of Iran…
Mohammed Vafadar was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 15, 2019, authorities arrested Vafadar at a house-church. Other members of the Church…
Hossein Kadivar was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On January 29, 2019, authorities arrested Kadivar at a house-church. Other members of the Church of Iran in…
Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad is detained for practicing his religion as a convert.
On January 15, 2022, authorities reportedly arrested Haghnejad, a church leader, in Bandar Anzali for a…
Milad Goudarzi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In November 2020, authorities raided Goudarzi's home and confiscated his personal belongings, including…
Ameen Khaki is imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In November 2020, authorities raided Khaki's home and confiscated his personal belongings, including…
Alireza Nourmohammadi is imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In November 2020, authorities raided Nourmohammadi's home and confiscated his personal belongings,…
Joshua Hilmy was forcibly disappeared for his religious belief and activity.
On November 30, 2016, Hilmy, who is a pastor, and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, were disappeared at the hands…
Hadi Rahimi was imprisoned for practicing his faith as a convert.
On May 14, 2020, Rahimi, a member of the Church of Iran, was taken into state custody after being unable to pay bail.…
Sakineh Behjati is imprisoned for practicing her faith as a convert.
On May 14, 2020, authorities took Behjati, a member of the Church of Iran, into custody after being unable to pay…
John Cao was imprisoned because of his religious identity and missionary work.
On March 5, 2017, the Menglian County Police of Yunnan Province detained Cao, a pastor, humanitarian worker,…
Umar Gautam is detained for his religious activity.
In June 2021, authorities arrested Gautam, a Muslim convert, Islamic scholar, and founder of the Islamic Da’…
Hidme Markam was detained for her advocacy work to protect religious sites.
On March 9, 2021, authorities arrested Markam, an Adivasi Indigenous activist known for criticizing state…
Zeynab Jalalian is imprisoned on religiously oriented charges.
In March 2008, security officials violently arrested Jalalian reportedly in relation to her social and political activism for…
Rahele Ahmadi was imprisoned for her women’s rights activism against compulsory religious veiling.
On July 10, 2019, authorities arrested Ahmadi, an activist against compulsory hijab,…
Yasaman Ariani was imprisoned for her women’s rights activism against compulsory religious veiling.
In April 2019, authorities arrested Ariani for protesting compulsory hijab after she was…
Saba Kord Afshari was imprisoned for her women’s rights activism against compulsory religious veiling.
In June 2019, authorities arrested Afshari for protesting compulsory hijab after a…
Monireh Arabshahi was imprisoned for her women’s rights activism against compulsory religious veiling.
In April 2019, authorities arrested Arabshahi for protesting compulsory hijab by…
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…
Ayub Pour Rezazadeh was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In September 2021, authorities arrested Rezazadeh, a member of the Church of Iran, and others in Rasht…
Ahmad Sarparast was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In September 2021, authorities arrested Sarparast, a member of the Church of Iran, and others in Rasht…
Morteza Mashhood Kari was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In September 2021, authorities arrested Kari, a member of the Church of Iran, and others in Rasht…
Lina Alsharif was detained in relation to religious freedom advocacy.
In May 2021, officials from the Saudi Presidency of State Security raided Alsharif’s home in Riyadh, arrested her, and…
Ali Badahdah is imprisoned in relation to his religious activity and leadership.
On September 12, 2017, armed soldiers arrested Badahdah, an imam and professor of hadith at King Abdul Aziz…
Asmaa al-Subaie is detained for her women’s rights activism critical of state-imposed religious systems.
In June 2021, authorities affiliated with the Presidency of State Security arrested…
Soori Babaei Chegini was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.
On July 13, 2022, authorities arrested Chegini from her brother's home in Qazvin after she posted a…
Melika Qaragozlu was detained in relation to protesting religious freedom conditions.
On July 13, 2022, authorities arrested Qaragozlu, a student activist, reportedly after she…
Gholamreza Keyvanmanesh is detained for practicing his religion as a convert.
On June 26, 2022, authorities arrested Keyvanmanesh and three others in Neyshabur as they gathered…
Reza Radmanesh is detained for practicing their religion as a convert.
On July 17, 2022, security forces arrested four Christians, including Radmanesh, in Neyshabur City…
Homayoun Zhaveh was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
In June 2019, authorities arrested Zhaveh and his wife, Sara Ahmadi, as they were on vacation with some…
Sara Ahmadi was imprisoned for practicing her religion as a convert.
In June 2019, authorities arrested Ahmadi and her husband, Homayoun Zhaveh, as they were on vacation with…
Mohammad Golbaz is detained for practicing his religion as a convert.
On July 30, 2022, authorities arrested Golbaz at his motorcycle repair shop reportedly after raiding his parents' home…
Salma al-Shehab was imprisoned for her women's rights activism opposing state-imposed religious systems as well as her religious identity.
On January 15, 2021, authorities arrested al-…
Mahsa Amini was detained and died in state custody in relation to state-imposed religious dress.
In September 2022, police tasked with enforcing public morals in Tehran arrested Amini for…
Joseph Shahbazian is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On June 30, 2020, authorities arrested Shahbazian, a house-church leader, following raids targeting house-churches…
Malihe Nazari was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On June 30, 2020, authorities arrested Nazari following raids targeting house-churches across several cities…
Atash Shahkarami was detained for speaking out about the disappearance and murder of an anti-hijab protester.
On October 2, 2022, security forces arrested Shahkarami after she spoke with…
Mykhailo Reznikov was disappeared in relation to his religious leadership role.
On March 9, 2022, Russian military forces detained Reznikov, a Baptist pastor, in Russian-occupied Mariupol…
Mykhailo Britsyn was detained for his religious leadership role.
In September 2022, Russian military detained Britsyn, a pastor, in Russian-occupied Melitopol, Ukraine, during a religious…
Niloofar Hamedi was imprisoned for reporting on religious freedom conditions.
On September 22, 2022, authorities raided the home of Hamedi and arrested her in relation to her…
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo was detained for his religious conversion.
On December 15, 2021, authorities arrested Abdo, a Yemeni refugee, from his Cairo home. Abdo's arrest followed his…
Ma Like is detained for criticizing religious freedom conditions.
In April 2017, authorities in Kashgar prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), detained Ma reportedly…
Elaheh Mohammadi was imprisoned for reporting on religious freedom conditions.
On September 29, 2022, authorities arrested Mohammadi in relation to her reporting on the funeral of Mahsa…
Hamid Gharehassanlou is imprisoned on religiously oriented charges for protesting religious freedom conditions.
On November 4, 2022, authorities in Karaj arrested Gharehassanlou,…
Farzaneh Gharehassanlou is imprisoned on religiously oriented charges for protesting religious freedom conditions.
On November 4, 2022, authorities in Karaj arrested …
Anahita Khademi was detained for practicing her religion as a convert.
On January 3, 2023, authorities in Bandar Anzali reportedly arrested Khademi after summoning her. She was…
Maryam Nematollahi is imprisoned for opposing state-mandated religious veiling.
On October 13, 2022, authorities in Shiraz reportedly arrested Nematollahi, an Instagram influencer and…
Morsen Afrouz was imprisoned for protesting religious freedom conditions and in relation to his religious association.
In November 2022, authorities in Firuzkooh reportedly detained …
Tulkun Astanov is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy and for protesting religious freedom conditions.
On November 22, 2020, authorities arrested Astanov, a religious…
Sara Mottaghi is detained for blasphemy.
On January 15, 2023, Iranian authorities raided the home of Mattaghi, a poet, for writing about an ancient Iranian day celebrating women. After…
Mojahed Kourkour is imprisoned and sentenced to death on false charges justified on a religious basis.
On December 20, 2022, authorities in Ahvaz arrested Kourkour in a violent raid…
Manahel al-Otaibi is imprisoned for her religious freedom advocacy.
In November 2022, Saudi authorities arrested al-Otaibi, an online fitness influencer, for opposing religiously grounded…
Fatemeh Sepehri is imprisoned for criticizing state-imposed religious policies.
On September 21, 2022, security forces arrested Sepehri following the outbreak of nationwide…
Anas al-Mazrou is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.
In March 2019, authorities arrested al-Mazrou, a university lecturer, for participating in a human rights panel at the…
Kim Kook-kie is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
In October 2014, North Korean authorities arrested and forcibly disappeared Kim Kook-kie, a South Korean pastor who engaged…
Nasrin Soutudeh was detained for her religious freedom advocacy.
In October 2023, Iranian authorities arrested Soutudeh, an Iranian human rights activist and lawyer, as she…
Reza Rasaei is imprisoned and sentenced to death for protesting religious freedom conditions.
In November 2022, Iranian security forces arrested Rasaei, a Yarsani adherant, in Karaj after…
Arash Moradi is imprisoned on religiously-based charges for his social activism.
In October 2023, Iranian security forces arrested Moradi, a Gonabadi Sufi and social activist, at his…
Neda Fotouhi is imprisoned for her membership in a religious organization and activism.
In October 2023, Iranian security forces arrested Fotouhi, an Iranian follower of Erfan-e-Halgheh,…
Choi Chun-gil is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
In December 2014, North Korean authorities reportedly arrested and forcibly disappeared Choi Chun-gil, a South Korean…
Mazaher Heydari is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
In June 2024, Iranian security forces arrested Heydari, a Gonabadi Sufi who has advocated for women’s rights…
Narges Nasri was detained for her religious conversion.
In November 2024, Iranian intelligence authorities detained Nasri after raiding her Tehran home, during which they confiscated…