U.S. Religious Freedom Commission Calls for Referral of Islamic Republic's Case to International Criminal Court

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom described the actions of the Islamic Republic's government in suppressing protesters as "special violence" and called for U.S. policymakers to support the referral of this government's human rights violations to the International Criminal Court. In a recent report, it noted the ongoing violence by the Islamic Republic against peaceful protests in Iran over the past decades, stating that protesters who participated in the "Women, Life, Freedom" demonstrations last year for greater religious or belief freedom were subjected to gunfire, widespread arrests and imprisonment, sexual and gender-based violence, and executions by government agents. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also referenced the report by Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, regarding the "pervasiveness and severity" of fundamental rights violations against the Iranian people by the government and the potential for the Islamic Republic to commit crimes against humanity. It reminded that in its current report, it suggested that the U.S. government support the referral of Iran's case to the International Criminal Court in this regard. The commission emphasized that the U.S. government is capable of coordinating international efforts to address the violation of the right to freedom of religion or belief by that country's government. The commission called for a U.S. response to the systematic restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic against religious freedom, stressing the U.S. government's commitment to supporting human rights, including freedom of religion or belief. It urged President Joe Biden to continue imposing targeted sanctions against violators of religious freedom or belief within the Iranian government and to remind the Islamic Republic of religious freedom and other human rights violations during negotiations. The commission also called for U.S. support for the efforts of the UN fact-finding committee regarding the Islamic Republic and for providing resources and technical expertise to gather evidence related to the commission of crimes against humanity in Iran. It requested U.S. policymakers to support the referral of the Islamic Republic's case for committing crimes against humanity to the International Criminal Court, evaluating this referral as being in the interests of the U.S. to increase international accountability for the Islamic Republic regarding the ongoing and systematic violations of freedom of religion or belief. In a part of its recent report this month, the commission addressed the gross, permanent, and systematic violations of religious freedoms by the Islamic Republic last year, especially against dissidents and religious minorities, including the Baha'i community and Sunnis. According to this report, the Islamic Republic has resorted to methods such as murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances in suppressing religious minorities. The report assessed the imposition of mandatory hijab and the imprisonment of protesters against mandatory hijab as contradictory to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN, which guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This is while the Islamic Republic has intensified its efforts to enforce mandatory hijab laws. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom detailed the government's mandatory hijab plan known as the "Hijab and Chastity Bill" for violent confrontations with opponents of mandatory hijab and its non-public review in the Iranian Parliament. The report noted that while women and girls are considered the main victims of honor killings in Iran, the Iranian judiciary treats the accused in these cases with leniency and tolerance. Another part of this report referenced the serial poisoning of at least thirteen thousand schoolgirls from last winter to this spring, emphasizing that Iranian government officials have been unable to investigate the origins of these attacks for months. The report also referred to the killing of at least 537 protesters last year as "government killings" and stated that the leader of the Islamic Republic and the commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, Ismail Qaani, publicly called for the suppression of protesters. In another section of the report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom pointed to the widespread imprisonment of Sunni minority activists and the intensification of pressures on Baha'i citizens since last September. Another part of this report mentioned the torture of prisoners of conscience, including Baha'is and Gonabadi Dervishes, such as Hamid Ghareh-Hassanlou and his wife Farzaneh, who were arrested and tortured after participating in the memorial service for Hadith Najafi, a killed protester. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stated that the systematic actions of the Islamic Republic against Gonabadi Dervishes and the recent suppression of participants in mourning ceremonies for the victims of protests have been documented. Another section of the report referred to government sexual violence and abuse against several protesters, including children and adolescents present at the protests, who peacefully protested for freedom of religion or belief. The deliberate shooting of protesters' eyes and genitals by government agents was also mentioned in this report. According to this report, during the nationwide protests last year, the eyes of at least 580 protesters were deliberately targeted by repressive forces. Government agents have also targeted the genitals of protesters. Enforced disappearances, either through killing or depriving detained protesters of contact, also constituted another part of this report. Nika Shakeri, a 16-year-old protester, is among those considered forcibly disappeared, whose body was returned to her family after more than a week of being missing. The Islamic Republic has not accepted responsibility for the killings and torture of protesters.