We note that July 8 marked 1,000 days Christian pastorYoucef Nadarkhani has spent in an Iranian prison. Pastor Nadarkhani still faces the threat of execution for simply following his faith, and we repeat our call for Iranian authorities to release him immediately.
Unfortunately, Pastor Nadarkhani is not alone in his suffering. The
Iranian regime continues to deny and abuse the human rights of its
citizens, in particular those of its many ethnic and religious
minorities. We are troubled by reports of the execution of four members
of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab community, whose sentences were carried out with
little due process. In March 2012, Iranian state media broadcast the
forced confession of one of those executed.
We are also concerned by credible reports that prominent author
Mohammad Soleimani Nia is missing following his release in May after
five months in prison on unspecified charges.
We call upon Iranian authorities to respect and protect the freedoms
and dignity of all its citizens, and to uphold its own laws and
international obligations which guarantee such rights to all Iranians,
regardless of their religious or political beliefs.
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