U.S. Government Agency: Iran Remains of ‘Special Concern’ Due to Gross and Systematic Religious Freedom Violations

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released a statement on Wednesday, August 22, listing the names of several senior officials of the Islamic Republic regime who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department due to severe violations of religious freedom for people in Iran.

The statement noted that two successive U.S. administrations over the past decade, citing the Magnitsky Act and issuing several presidential executive orders, have added individuals who have committed violations of Iranians’ rights to practice their religion to the sanctions list.

The statement provided background on several officials associated with the leader of the Islamic Republic in this regard, and a brief description of two “notorious execution judges” (referring to Abolqasem Soleati and Mohammad Moghisseh) who, following the peaceful protests of 2009, unjustly issued severe sentences against Iranian citizens. The statement also included the names of other sanctioned individuals such as Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, Mohsen Rezaei, Ahmad Jannati, and Ayoub Soleimani.

This independent and non-partisan American institution also recommended in its 2020 report to the U.S. State Department that Iran continue to be designated among countries of “special concern” due to “systematic, persistent, and gross violations of religious freedom” of its people.

Source: Voice of America