Additional Name(s): مریم نعمتاللهی
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 5 Years' Imprisonment, 8 Months' Ankle Monitoring
Date of Detainment: October/13/2022
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Online Activity Religious Appearance Resisting State-Imposed Religious Systems Women’s Rights
Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly Immorality
Maryam Nematollahi is imprisoned for opposing state-mandated religious veiling.
On October 13, 2022, authorities in Shiraz reportedly arrested Nematollahi, an Instagram influencer and an architecture student, for videos she posted of her dancing. These videos had been circulating at the time of nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini and mandatory religious veiling. After her interrogation, Nematollahi was reportedly charged with "removing the hijab, promoting corruption and depravity, and assembly and conspiracy against national security."
In December 2022, it was reported that the Shiraz Revolutionary Court sentenced Nematollahi to five years for "assembly and conspiracy against national security" and that a Shiraz criminal court sentenced her to eight months of ankle monitoring for removing the hijab and promotion of immorality.
"مریم نعمتاللهی؛ محکومیت به پنج سال زندان بهدلیل رقصیدن" United For Iran
"Maryam Nematollahi" United For Iran
Additional Name(s): یاشار راستی
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: January/4/2023
Date of Release: February/8/2023
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Yashar Rasti was detained for his religious belief and activity.
On January 4, 2023, authorities in Shiraz reportedly arrested Rasti in relation to his being Baha'i. Authorities reportedly searched his home.
On February 8, 2023, Rasti was released.
Related Cases: Aida Rasti
"Iranian Baha'i Arrested, Whereabouts Unknown Amid Crackdown On Faith" IranWire
Zhinoos Forootan | ژینوس فروتن, Tweet, January 4, 2023
Jan 5, 2023
Authoritarian states promote religious tolerance without necessarily ensuring freedom of religion or belief. Last month, USCIRF released a report distinguishing between these two concepts and explains the origins of religious tolerance promotion as a tool of statecraft. The report presents case studies of countries engaged in religious tolerance promotion, such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
Dr. David Warren, the author of the report and lecturer in the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, join us to today to discuss the important findings and ways the U.S. government can utilize discussions of religious tolerance to set a groundwork for broader rights protections.
Read the full report on “Tolerance, Religious Freedom, and Authoritarianism”