factor in prosecutions where it is not officially specified as a charge. Mohsen Amir Aslani
Zanjani, an alternative spiritual instructor who had challenged official state orthodoxy, was
executed in 2014 on charges of “rape and corruption on earth” which he insisted had been
trumped up against him; an Ayatollah had issued a fatwa declaring him an apostate after
authorities solicited him for a formal religious opinion.4
There are no laws safeguarding the right of religious minorities to worship or assemble in
connection with their religion or belief, even though this is allowed in Iran for recognized
religions. There is no legislation addressing the right to establish and maintain places of worship,
but members of recognized religions who respect the restrictions on assembly are permitted to
have places of worship such as churches and synagogues.
Sunni Muslims are not allowed to build new mosques in major cities, including Tehran. 5 In
addition, a number of Sunni religious seminaries have been destroyed by the government. 6
Additionally, only 1% of religious temples in Iran are non-Muslim.7 Baha’is, 8 in Iran, do not
have any official place of worship. In Tehran, there are about 15 churches for 43,987 Christians
(one church for every 2,932 Christians) and there are only 5 religious temples for about 9,568
inhabitants belonging to all non-recognized religious minorities 9 The lack of official places of
worship forces religious minorities to gather in informal meetings which are often raided and
dispersed by authorities. 10 The end of 2018 and 2019 saw an unprecedented wave of raids on
private house gatherings related to religion or belief, leading to a large number of arrests,
detentions, and imprisonments. 1112
See One Person’s Story: Mohsen Amir Aslani Zanjani, https://www.iranrights.org/memorial/story/-7323/mohsen-amir-aslanizanjani
5 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>
6 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>
7
Based on Province annual data reports, as of 2018.
8 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
9 Based on Province annual data reports, as of 2018.
10 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf
11 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf
12 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
4
2