Since February 2018, members of the Gonabadi Dervishes faith have faced a crackdown, with
hundreds arrested following a peaceful protest and over 200 sentenced to lengthy prison terms,
flogging and other punishments.33 Dozens remained imprisoned on charges including “gathering
and colluding to commit crimes against national security.”34 Reports have shown that members
of the Christian converts minority were regularly being arrested on the charges of “Christian
activity” or “acting against national security through propaganda against the regime.”35 Members
of the Baha’i faith, have faced a range of charges for manifesting their faith, including “collusion
and assembly against national security” and “formation and management of an illegal Baha’i
group with intent to disturb national security.”36
Members of the Baloch minority, estimated to be between 2 and 3 million,37 speak the Baluchi
language with a majority being Sunni Muslim. Arabs in Iran represent up to 5 million individuals
in Iran,38 a significant minority being Sunni Muslim. Similarly, Kurds, estimated between 8 and
10 million39 have a majority Sunni Muslim and include a minority Yarsanis. 40 As a consequence,
these communities face intersectional discrimination, based on their ethnicity and language as
well as religion.
While it is technically possible to file discrimination complaints with the Administration
of Justice Court, the Article 90 Commission in the parliament, and the Oversight Bodies for the
exercise of Citizenship Rights in the country’s provincial courts, there is no evidence
that judicial actions are taken in response to complaints.41 Hate crimes, such as motivated
killings and desecration of cemeteries, particularly against Baha’is, have not been investigated by
the Iranian authorities.42 43
33
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/living-under-suppression-the-situation-of-gonabadidervishes-in-iran/
34
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1318292020ENGLISH.PDF
35
EN-HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/a-report-on-fatemeh-mary-mohammadi
36
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28 January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
37
Taheri, A., The Baloch in Post Islamic Revolution Iran: A Political Study, University of Pune 2012, p. 24.
38
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/29/iran-sweeping-arrests-ahwazi-arab-activists
39
UNPO, https://unpo.org/members/7882
40
Minority Rights Group, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
41
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in
Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation
Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf
42
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in
Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation
Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf
43
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019,
https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/74/188
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