Hillary Clinton expresses deep concern for religious persecution of Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed “deep concern” on Thursday over the continued persecution of religious minority communities in Iran by the national government.
By Aaron J. Leichman
8/15/2010 Iran (Christian Post) – “Freedom of religion is the birthright of people of all faiths and beliefs in all places,” Clinton stated following the sentencing of seven Baha’i leaders earlier this week.
“The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world," she added, "and we have not forgotten the Baha’i community in Iran.”
On Sunday, Iran sentenced seven leading members of the Baha'i community, the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority, to 20-year-jail terms.
The leaders, who were incarcerated and held for nearly two years without due process, had been charged with crimes including espionage, propaganda activities against the Islamic order, and spreading “corruption on earth.”
A number of rights organizations, however, allege that the prosecutions and sentences are politically and religiously motivated acts. They say religious minorities, particularly Baha’is, as well as Christians and Sufi Muslims, have suffered intensified physical attacks, harassment, detention, arrests, and imprisonment in recent years.
They also say the government continues to impose lengthy prison sentences on prominent reformers from the Shia majority community, many of whom have been tried on charges of “insulting Islam,” criticizing the Islamic Republic, and publishing materials that allegedly deviate from Islamic standards.
