Additional Name(s): سارا متقی
Gender: Female
Current Location: Lakan Prison, Rasht
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: February/28/2023
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Women’s Rights
Nature of Charges: Blasphemy Unlawful Disobedience
Sara Mottaghi is detained for blasphemy.
On February 28, 2023, authorities in Rasht arrested Mottaghi, a poet, for writing about an ancient Iranian day celebrating women. Authorities reportedly deemed the writing as insulting to Islam. Mottaghi was reportedly charged with “insulting the sacred” and “publishing protest calls.” She was sent to Lakan Prison in Rasht.
Photo attributed to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Sara Mottaghi Arrested At Rasht Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office" Human Rights in Iran
IranHumanRights.org, Tweet, March 5, 2023
"Poet Sara Mottaghi Arrested in Rasht" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Implications for Religious Freedom
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Virtual
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a virtual hearing on the Russian government’s religious freedom violations in Ukraine and Russia.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Russian forces have committed numerous religious freedom and other related human rights violations in Ukraine, including the killing and torture of religious leaders and the destruction of countless houses of worship. Russian officials have repeatedly turned to antisemitic rhetoric and Holocaust distortion in an effort to justify the country’s groundless invasion. In the areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied since 2014, its de facto authorities and proxies have imposed draconian laws to suppress religious communities such as the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, predominantly Muslim Crimean Tatars and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Meanwhile, in Russia, the state has continued to prosecute an ever-growing list of religious groups as so-called “extremists” for their peaceful religious activities and launched a ruthless campaign to silence civil society and independent media.
Witnesses identified Russia’s religious freedom violations, analyzed the invasion’s impact on religious freedom and other related human rights, and discussed recommendations for U.S. policy toward Russia.
Opening Remarks
Panel
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. Members of the media should register online and can email [email protected] for any questions or to schedule an interview. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please email Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected] or (202) 702-2778.
2023 Annual Report:
Key Findings and Recommendations
Monday, May 1, 2023
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET
Event to open at 8:30 AM ET
Congressional remarks to begin at 8:40 AM ET
Virtual
The 2023 Annual Report documents systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom that have occurred in the last year, and provides recommendations to the U.S. government intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief abroad.
The report also highlights important global developments and trends related to religious freedom during 2022, including in countries that do not meet the criteria of a "country of particular concern" (CPC) or Special Watch List (SWL). These include, for example, transnational repression and influence by religious freedom violators, laws restricting religious freedom, emerging religious freedom concerns in other countries, and other key developments.
This year’s report features new and many repeated actionable recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief abroad.
Opening Remarks
This event is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. For any additional questions or interview requests, please contact [email protected].