US Commission on International Religious Freedom Criticizes Violations of Religious Freedom in Iran and Saudi Arabia

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, on Wednesday, December 8, examined the effects of freedom of religion or belief, and the endorsement or imposition of a single interpretation of religion by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran, in a virtual hearing entitled “Violations of Religious Freedom and Use of Force by the Governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran.”

At the beginning of this virtual meeting, Nadine Maenza, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, referred to cases of violations of the rights of religious minorities in Saudi Arabia and Iran, such as the repression, forced confessions, and executions of Shiite Muslims by Riyadh, as well as the systematic violations of the rights of Baha'is and the executions of Sunni Muslims by Tehran.

Violations of women's religious freedom in these two countries, including male guardianship over women and the arrest of women who oppose compulsory hijab, were other issues that Ms. Maenza mentioned in her speech.

In the continuation of this virtual meeting, Anurima Bhargava, Commissioner at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, pointed out some of the human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and Iran, such as the use of electric shock, physical torture, flogging, and solitary confinement against religious and religious minority activists, and in the case of Iran, specifically addressed the arrest, torture, and death of Behnam Mahjoubi, a Gonabadi dervish.

In another part of her speech, Ms. Bhargava referred to the repeated violations of LGBT rights and death threats against them by the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia based on their interpretation of religion.

The cross-border actions of Riyadh and Tehran against their opposing human rights activists, including the Islamic Republic's failed attempt to kidnap Masih Alinejad, a women's rights activist and host of the Voice of America tablet program, were the central topic of another part of Ms. Bhargava's remarks.

A video message from Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of the Halgheh Mysticism, was then broadcast to the meeting, in which he criticized the Iranian government's limited interpretation of religion and the actions of the Revolutionary Guards against him and Halgheh Mysticism, and expressed hope that the commission would support the followers of Halgheh Mysticism.

Following Mohammad Ali Taheri's video message, Ted Deutsch, a Democratic representative in the United States House of Representatives from Florida, spoke.

At the beginning of his speech, Mr. Deutsch addressed the 72nd anniversary of the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and mentioned some of his efforts in defending and promoting religious freedoms.

He went on to point out the persecution and illegal detention of religious minorities in Iran, especially followers of the Baha'i faith. According to Mr. Deutsch, "Any threat or attack against a religious minority is a threat or attack against the entire world."

After Ted Deutsch, the first panel of the virtual hearing began with the remarks of Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the organization's former Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

At the beginning of his speech, he referred to the Iranian government's oppressive actions, especially against religious minorities, and stated that the systematic violation of the rights of Baha'is has made life in Iran unbearable for followers of this faith. Mr. Shahid warned of the worrying trend of increasing violations of the rights of religious minorities in countries under the influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In another part of his speech, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran referred to the Islamic Republic government as the leader of anti-Semitism in the world and also recalled the government's illegal actions against Iranian Christians.

Ahmad Shaheed believes that the United States and world governments should support human rights defenders and activists and pay special attention to the Islamic Republic's plan to expel followers of the Baha'i faith from Iran. According to him, the United States should actively oppose the Islamic Republic's efforts to gain legitimacy in United Nations-affiliated institutions.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in response to a question about the changing situation of religious and secular minorities under the Ebrahim Raisi administration, said that the situation has worsened. He added that more repressive measures have been taken against religious and secular minorities since Raisi came to power, and cited the government's treatment of Baha'is as a "touchstone" of this issue.

Mr. Shahid also said that the Iranian government should not be allowed to act ambiguously on human rights, adding that the Iranian government is vulnerable to social and civil pressure.

The second panel of the virtual hearing of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom began with remarks by Eric Goldstein, executive director for the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch.

In his speech, Mr. Goldstein mentioned several human rights violations in both Iran and Saudi Arabia, including their intolerance of critics, lack of an independent judiciary, high death penalty rates, intolerance of religious minorities, systematic gender discrimination, intolerance of sexual minorities, censorship and strict monitoring of the Internet, suppression of critics outside the country's borders (such as the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the kidnapping and execution of Ruhollah Zam), and support for repressive governments in the region.

In another part of his speech, Mr. Goldstein made a passing reference to the Iranian government's suppression of the Green Movement and the November 2019 protests, and called on the United States to use international organizations to pressure the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia for human rights violations.

The second panel continued with the speech of Marjan Greenblatt, founder and director of the Alliance for Rights for All Minorities. At the beginning of her speech, Ms. Greenblatt referred to the number of prisoners of religious and secular minorities (Baha'i, Sunni, Christian, and Dervish) in Iran, adding that followers of these religions and sects are "second-class citizens" in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ms. Greenblatt went on to mention examples of the Iranian government's systematic discrimination against Zoroastrians, Christians, Sunnis, Baha'is, and Jews.

In another part of his speech, he referred to the deplorable human rights situation in marginalized areas and said that in Khuzestan, Baluchistan, and Kurdistan, religious and ethnic discrimination are "two sides of the same coin."

In the final part of the second panel, Ms. Hala Al-Dosari, a researcher on women's health and activist from Saudi Arabia, addressed the dire human rights situation in her country.

Discrimination against religious minorities, a fatwa issued by a religious figure close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling for the killing of government opponents, the widespread arrest of independent religious figures who disagreed with the government's ideology when bin Salman came to power in 2017, spreading hatred against Shiites, and the dire situation of Saudi women and the government's failure to adequately address their problems were among the main themes of Ms. Hala Al-Dosari's speech.

Source: Voice of America