Sam Brownback: The Iranian regime has the most heinous record of persecuting religious minorities

The US Ambassador for Religious Freedom told VOA: "Iran has the most egregious record in the US State Department of countries involved in the persecution of religious minorities, and this regime persecutes any religious minority it deems inappropriate."

Sam Brownback told a Voice of America reporter on Wednesday, June 2, at a meeting on religious freedom and human rights in Iran, which was held in one of the US Congress buildings in Washington, D.C.: The Iranian regime only accepts its own interpretation of Shiite Islam, and if you are outside the circle, you are persecuted. That means you are imprisoned and even sentenced to death. They isolate the individual, that means they do not give them the right to participate in cultural affairs and even education. This terrible behavior has been going on since the beginning and continues against the Iranian people.

Mr. Brownback explained: "Baha'is are severely persecuted in Iran; they are not even allowed to access basic services, they have been imprisoned and some have been executed. Christian converts are also treated very badly and are imprisoned or sentenced to death. Even Sunni Muslims are treated inappropriately. If you are a Shia, you are a target of persecution."

The US ambassador to Iran for religious freedom said: "We call on Iranian authorities to allow their citizens to freely practice the religion they believe in. We also ask the authorities in Tehran what they are afraid of regarding religious freedom? What are they afraid of that prevents citizens from freely practicing their religious beliefs?"

Source: Voice of America