US State Department Special Adviser: Iranian Regime Must Release All Prisoners of Conscience and Respect Religious Freedom
The U.S. State Department’s Special Adviser on Religious Minorities in the Middle East, South and Central Asia criticized the ongoing persecution of minorities in Iran and called on the Islamic Republic to immediately release all prisoners of conscience and respect religious freedom.
Nox Timms said Tuesday, April 30, during a session of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Washington that the U.S. State Department documents all cases of minority persecution in Iran, from the house arrest of the Dervish leader to the imprisonment of Christian converts, deprivation of education and employment for Bahá’ís, and state-sponsored antisemitism.
Mr. Timms presented a list of religious freedom violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran at this session.
He said: “Regarding Iran’s Jewish community, it must be said that the Iranian regime actively promotes antisemitism in its domestic policies and efforts to export it. The Iranian regime oppresses its Baha’i citizens to such an extent that it is incomparable to the treatment of this minority anywhere else in the world. According to statistics, as recently as two months ago, seventy Bahá’ís remained imprisoned in Iranian jails solely for being Bahá’ís. The U.S. State Department continuously documents these issues, namely continuous verbal attacks against Bahá’ís, closure of their businesses, and prevention from receiving basic services.”
Iran’s Jewish community is estimated at between 15,000 to 20,000 people. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the existence of Israel and tolerates and promotes antisemitic statements.
This U.S. State Department official addressed the situation of Dervishes in Iran, who have been persecuted by the Islamic Republic since winter 2017.
He said: “The Iranian regime has imprisoned hundreds of Nematollahi Gonabadi Dervishes on baseless charges. Their 92-year-old leader, Dr. Nourollah Tabandeh, is under house arrest. According to Human Rights Watch, repressive measures against Dervishes represent one of the most extensive persecutions of a religious minority in Iran over the past decade.”
Nematollah Gonabadi Dervishes, the largest Dervish group in Iran, are subject to persecution by the government, and in March 2018, Iranian security forces surrounded Mr. Tabandeh’s home, which led to clashes between groups of protesters and his followers with police officers.
Mr. Timms added that Tehran authorities persecute some Christians.
He said: “The regime continues to target evangelical and traditional Christians. In November and December of last year, Iranian security agents detained a number of Christians, including the arrest of 114 Christians in one week. Agents raided their home churches because they were concerned about these individuals’ religious proselytization during Christmas. Some of these individuals remain in detention.
Conversion from Islam to Christianity is a crime in the Islamic Republic.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released its latest annual report on the status of religious freedoms in various countries around the world, including Iran, on Monday, April 29. Iran, as in previous years, was listed among countries of “special concern.”
Source: Voice of America
