US report criticizes religious freedom abuses in Iran

Washington, 27 October (WashingtonTV)—The US State Department named Iran as one of the world’s worst offenders in abusing religious freedom, in an annual report released on Monday.

The report also cited seven other countries for egregious violations of religious freedom over the past year – North Korea, Myanmar, China, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

During the last year, respect for religious freedom in Iran “continued to deteriorate,” said the 2009 International Religious Freedom Report.

“Government rhetoric and actions created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shi’a religious groups, most notably for Baha’is, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the Jewish community. Reports of government imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued during the reporting period,” it said.

The report said that state-owned broadcast and print media intensified negative campaigns against religious minorities, particularly the Baha’is, over the past year.

“Although the [Iranian] constitution gives Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians the status of ‘protected’ religious minorities, in practice non-Shi’a Muslims faced substantial societal discrimination, and government actions continued to support elements of society who created a threatening atmosphere for some religious minorities,” it said.

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