Additional Name(s): مهسا محمدى

Gender: Female

Current Location: Dolatabad Prison, Isfahan

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Unspecified

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: October/30/2022

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Online Activity

Nature of Charges: Blasphemy

Mahsa Mohammadi

Extra Bio Info:

Mahsa Mohammadi is detained for blasphemy.

On October 30, 2022, authorities reportedly detained Mohammadi, a university student in Sabzevar, over a tweet perceived as blasphemous. Mohammadi's arrest came amid nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini and compulsory religious veiling. Mohammadi was reportedly charged with "insulting the Prophet" [Sab-ul-Nabi] (Art. 262 IPC), a capital offense, and is facing the death penalty.

Sources:

Additional Name(s): محسن افروز

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sufi

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 1 Year's Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: November//2022

Current Status: Unknown

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Protesting Religious Freedom Conditions Religious Association Resisting State-Imposed Religious Systems Women’s Rights

Nature of Charges: Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials

Mohsen Afrouz

Extra Bio Info:

Morsen Afrouz was imprisoned for protesting religious freedom conditions and in relation to his religious association.

In November 2022, authorities in Firuzkooh reportedly detained Afrouz, a Gonabadi Sufi, during nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini and compulsory religious veiling.

In January 2023, it was reported that a revolutionary court sentenced Afrouz to one year in prison for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).

Afrouz's sentence should have ended.

Sources:

Jan 19, 2023

In 2016, Congress passed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act which mandated that USCIRF maintain a list of individuals targeted for their religion or belief. In 2019, USCIRF launched its Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List – an online database that catalogues persons detained, imprisoned, placed under house arrest, disappeared, forced to renounce their faith, and tortured for their religious belief, religious activity, and religious freedom advocacy. Since then, the FoRB Victims List has documented almost 2,000 victims with that number unfortunately continuing to grow.

USCIRF Researcher, Dylan Schexnaydre, joins Research Analyst, Zack Udin, to discuss the database’s background, recent upgrades, and data for 2022.

Read USCIRF’s Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Factsheet

View USCIRF’s Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List or complete the Victims List Intake Form. 

Subscribe to