'Authorities continued to investigate, detain, imprison, torture, physically abuse persons, and seize their property because of their religious belief or affiliation or membership in groups designated 'extremist,' 'terrorist,' or 'undesirable,' including Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Tablighi Jamaat, followers of Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi, the Church of Scientology, Falun Gong, and multiple evangelical Protestant groups,' the report says, adding that individuals have been reportedly subjected to long terms in labor camps, torture, home searches, and other mistreatment. MORE: UK, France pledge military aid to Ukraine as Zelenskyy makes unannounced visit Among the issues listed are legal prohibitions against conversions in multiple states, accusations of systemic discrimination against Muslims, and attacks on religious minorities-including 'cow vigilantism' against non-Hindus based on allegations of cow slaughter or trade in beef. The survey, which is required by law to be compiled and submitted to Congress annually, also expressed a number of concerns about conditions in India-a country not currently designated by the State Department as a 'Country of Particular Concern' for severe violations of religious freedom. Referencing statistics from human rights groups working in Iran, it says that in the months of 2022 after Amini's death, government security forces killed 512 protestors, including 69 children, arrested 19,204 individuals and executed at least one person linked to the demonstrations on the charge of 'enmity against God.' The report emphasizes that the movement has come with steep costs.

'People across Iran, led by young women, continue peaceful protests demanding their human rights, including freedom of religion, galvanized by the killing of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police because her hijab did not fully cover her hair,' he said. MORE: China sentences American citizen to life on spying chargeīlinken also addresses Iran's Islamic theocracy, which imposes draconian restrictions on its population and brutal punishments for offenses, as well as the ongoing wave of demonstrations inspired by the death of a teenager last September.

Of Human Freedom by Epictetus