₦airaland Forum

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According to the BBC, Tsaghati is the founder of a cultural center that has a focus on piety and promoting women’s wearing of the hijab.

The report said Tsaghati has been removed from his post and officials have denied having any prior knowledge of his behavior.

Same-sex relations are outlawed in Iran, potentially carrying the death penalty, and the LGBTQ community faces discrimination...

The battle over the hijab and religious coercion became a powerful rallying cry for protests last fall over the death of Mahsa Amini after she had been taken into custody by the morality police for allegedly breaching Iran's dress code for women.

The demonstrations quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers, whom the mostly young protesters accuse of being corrupt, repressive and out of touch.

Iran’s government blamed the protests on a foreign conspiracy, without providing evidence.

The 26-year-old woman converted to Islam to marry her then boyfriend who was a Muslim on August 18, 2017. Their relationship ended before the wedding and now she wants to return to being a Christian.

Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid set the decision date on whether or not to grant the woman leave for judicial review after hearing arguments from her lawyer and the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) representing the government and the Islamic authorities earlier today.

The woman who is the plaintiff is not named to protect her privacy. She is seeking declarations that the Shariah Courts do not have the jurisdiction under the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993, also known as Act 505, to cancel her status as a Muslim but rather the Registrar of Muallaf (ROM) who oversees Muslim converts.

The three respondents named in the judicial review application are: the Federal Territories ROM, the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government of Malaysia.

Her back story
The woman had requested to leave Islam on January 27, 2022 admitting to still being a practising Christian despite converting to Islam.

She said she only became a Muslim for administrative reasons as she wanted to marry her then Muslim boyfriend.

She said she doesn't read the Quran and is a believer in the concept of the Holy Trinity and the Bible since she was baptised at age one by her Christian parents.

She sent three letters to the ROM dated January 31, February 20 and March 17 this year to the ROM asking to leave Islam, but claimed to have received no replies to any of them except an acknowledgment of receipt.

Reasons for judicial review

The woman was represented by Iqbal Harith Liang from Messrs Fahri, Azzat & Co while the federal counsel was Muhammad Salehuddin Md Ali who acted for the three respondents.

In his argument this morning, Iqbal submitted that this client felt that it was unconstitutional and oppressive of the ROM not to entertain her requests.

He also argued that Section 91 of Act 505 is unconstitutional as it states that those who embrace Islam are Muslim for life, adding that this provision is in conflict with Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution, which provides that every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

He also said that Section 85(1) of Act 505 is unconstitutional as it states that those who utter the kalimah syahadah — the declaration of belief for Islam — automatically becomes Muslim, but the provision does not state that those who do so must believe in the religion.

“Such an irrebuttable presumption is contrary to Article 11. There is a concern that if she remained as a Muslim but in practice is a Christian she would be subject to laws governing Muslims like solat fardu, fasting and paying zakat.

“We're relying on how Item 1 of the State List is worded grammatically. The provision requires a person to be ‘professing’ Islam. It’s a present tense, so when one renounces Islam he/she is no longer ‘professing’,” Iqbal told Malay Mail when contacted today.

Apart from that, he said the judicial review is not prohibited under Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, which makes the civil court not have jurisdiction over matters that already fall under the jurisdiction of the Shariah Courts.

The applicant has said she was never a practising Muslim, never believed in Allah and had never been a “person professing the religion of Islam”, which is why the Shariah Courts should have no jurisdiction over her decisions.

Instead, she said the authority lies with the civil courts, which is why she is seeking a judicial review under the “Statutory Judicial Review” and “Constitutional Judicial Review”.

She cited a past case of Sisters In Islam Forum Malaysia vs the Selangor state government in 2022 at the Federal Court to back her assertion that the civil courts were the right legal platform to seek redress.

The applicant said she is living in fear and pretending to be a Muslim, fearing repercussion or reprisal from the authorities and the public due to the laws in place governing Muslims.

Salehuddin on the other hand argued that despite the woman renouncing Islam on her own all such renunciation cases have always fallen under the Shariah Courts jurisdiction and it is provided by law.

He said Act 505 only gave the ROM powers to register a person as a Muslim and not the power to renounce them from it.

The man, who killed the 25-year-old in a park on Friday afternoon, had allegedly been planning the murder for three days and surrendered to the police hours after committing it.

"We received information that the body of a 25-year-old girl was found in a park near Aurobindo College in South Delhi's Malviya Nagar. An iron rod was found near her body," a Delhi Police official said.

Investigation revealed that the victim's name was Nargis and she had been spotted in the park with a man named Irfan, who was her cousin. Police found that Nargis was attending a stenographer's course in Malviya Nagar and had completed her studies from Kamala Nehru College earlier this year.

As the police were probing the case further, Irfan surrendered before them and was taken into custody. During his interrogation, Irfan, who is 28 and works as a food delivery agent, told the police that Nargis' mother and his mother are sisters. He said he wanted to marry Nargis but her family had refused, partly because he did not have a proper job.

Nargis also refused to marry him and stopped speaking to him or answering his calls. Irfan told the police that he was disturbed and angry about this, and his anger was compounded by the fact that no one else was agreeing to marry him either.

Irfan said he planned the murder three days ago and went to the park today knowing that Nargis would cross it while returning from her stenography class. As she was passing by the park around noon, Irfan called her in and said he wanted to speak to her. When she refused, he pulled out an iron rod from his bag and attacked her with it, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Delhi) Chandan Chowdhury said, "The boy was disturbed after his marriage proposal was rejected and the girl stopped talking to him or taking his calls. That is why he killed her," says The chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Swati Maliwal, took note of today's incident as well as the murder of a woman in Delhi's Dabri area last night and asked how many deaths it would take for the centre to fix accountability of the Delhi Police.

"Delhi, the national capital, has become extremely unsafe. Two incidents have come to light today. A woman was shot in Dabri and another was battered to death with an iron rod in broad daylight. In the entire country, the names of girls are changed in newspapers but the crimes do not stop," Ms Maliwal said.

"I want to ask the centre how many more deaths will need to happen before they fix the accountability of the Delhi Police. The DCW has taken note of the incidents and notices are being issued to the Delhi Police," she added.

While Samimi managed to call her family and inform them of her detention at Lakan Prison, Kashani-Nejad has not yet been granted the opportunity to contact her family, leaving her loved ones anxious about her whereabouts.

According to another source, Samimi is facing charges of “propaganda against the regime.”

In a related matter, Anisa Samieian, Kashani-Nejad’s daughter, and her husband Vesal Momtazi recently received a combined sentence of nine years and six months from the Rasht Revolutionary Court, further heightening concerns over the treatment of Baha’i citizens in the region.

The deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.

They reported that Branch 1088 of the Tehran Criminal Court sentenced the unnamed woman for an alleged violation of the mandatory hijab laws .
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The woman faces a two-year travel ban and two months imprisonment, citing potential “anti-Iranian behavior.”

Throughout the court verdict, obtained by HRANA, the judge, Ali Omidi, references the use of public “smart” security cameras as evidence to support the claims.

The woman was additionally mandated to mental health checks after the judge noted her decision to remain out of compliance with mandatory hijab laws displayed symptoms of a “disease” that “must be treated.”

The sentence imposed this week is the first known instance of such cameras being used as evidence in an attempt to systematically crackdown on women’s rights.

“Criminalizing refusal to wear the hijab is a violation of the right to freedom of expres-sion of women and girls. The move is of grave concern and should be widely con-demned,” the HRAI said in a statement.

Iran was rocked by demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for wom-en based on Islamic Sharia law.
Thousands have been arrested, and several protesters have been executed since the start of the protests.

In April, Iran’s state media reported how authorities in Iran were installing cameras in public places to identify and penalize women not wearing hijabs.

A police statement carried out by several local media outlets at the time said the force would “take action to identify norm-breaking people by using tools and smart cameras in public places and thoroughfares.”

Police will then send “the proof and warning messages to the violators of the hijab law” to “inform them about the legal consequences of repeating this crime.”

“People who remove their hijab will be identified by using smart equipment,” Iran’s po-lice chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said in an interview with state television at the time. “People who remove their hijab in public places will be warned first and presented to the courts as a next step.”

In the fall of 1982, approximately one hundred Baha’i men and women were arrested in Shiraz, Iran. The arrests were part of a systematic and widespread persecution of Baha’is across the country that resulted in the execution of a number of those detained, including the mass execution of ten women on June 18, 1983, in Shiraz’s Chogan Square.

The youngest of these women was Mona Mahmoudnejad, who was 17 years old. The eldest was 57-year-old Ezzat Janami, who was executed along with her daughter Roya Eshraghi. The women had participated in various activities of their Faith and some were active in administration of the Baha’i community of Shiraz...

Who Were these Ten Executed Women?
The youngest to be executed was Mona Mahmoudnejad. She was only 17 years old at the time of her execution. Her father had been executed four months prior to her execution.

Simin Saberi, 25 years old, was a former secretary of an agricultural company. Simin had been fired from her job prior to her arrest, for being a member the Baha’i faith.

Akhtar Sabet, 25 years old, was a nurse and teacher of Baha’i children. In December of 1978, a mob targeting Baha’is attacked and looted Mrs. Sabet’s family’s home and shop.

Zarin Moghimi, 29 years old, was a graduate of English literature and an employee of Marvdasht Petrochemical Company. Her mother and father were also among the Baha’is arrested in Shiraz.

Mahshid Niromand, 28 years old, was s Shiraz University physics graduate. Mrs. Niromand was familiar with three languages, English, German and French, and oversaw education of Baha’i children.

Shirin Dalvand, 26 years old, graduated in sociology from Shiraz University. Although Mrs. Dalvand’s family had emigrated to England, she had chosen to stay in Iran. She was living with her grandmother at the time of her arrest.

Roya Eshraghi was 23 years old. She was student of veterinary medicine at Shiraz University but following the revolution she expelled from the university due to being a Baha’i.

Ezzat Janami, was 57 years old. She is the mother of Roya Eshraghi. Mrs. Janmi’s husband and Roya Eshraghi’s father, Enayatollah Eshraghi, were executed on June 18, 1983, along with five other Baha’i men, two days before she and her daughter’s execution.

Nosrat Ghofrani, 46 years old, was a member of the Shiraz Baha’i Spiritual Assembly. Her son, Bahram Yaldai, was executed on June 18, 1983, two days before she was.

Tahereh Arjomandi, 30 years old, was a nurse. Prior to her arrest she was fired from her job due to being a Baha’i. Mrs. Arjomandi’s husband, Jamshid Siavashi, was executed June 18, 1983, the same time as Enayatollah Eshraghi and Bahram Yaldai.

From Arrest to Execution
The arrests of the ten women occurred at various times in the fall of 1982. Most were arrested at their private homes.

Nosrat Ghofrani was arrested on October 1, 1982, along with her husband and son, Bahram Yaldai. The interval between her arrest and her execution was about eight months.

Mona Mahmoudnejad, Simin Saberi, Tahereh Arjomandi and Akhtar Sabet were arrested in late October 1982. Five other women were also arrested on November 29, 1982, by IRGC forces.

The officers of the IRGC initially took the arrested women to the IRGC detention center. This detention center now belongs to the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, known as “Ward 100”.

Other Baha’is who were arrested at the same time as the ten women have described the interrogation and torture they were subjected to as “long and very severe”.

45 days of the arrest of the last of the women, they were transferred to Adel Abad prison. They remained there until their execution.

At this time, the newspaper “Khabar Jonub” reported on February 12 1983, “22 Baha’is were sentenced to death in Shiraz in connection with the House of Justice of Israel.” The report only mentioned that they were members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is of Shiraz but did not mention their names.

“Spiritual Assembly” refers to a board responsible for handling the administrative affairs of the Baha’i community in that locale. The Assembly consists of nine people elected annually by adult Baha’is in each city or village.

This was not the first time that Baha’is suffered the death penalty in Shiraz. In several previous cases Baha’is were executed by gun or hanging in Shiraz for charges of “connection with Israel” and “espionage”.

Twenty days after the announcement of February 12 1983 Khabar Jonub report, the Ruler of Sharia and the head of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court at that time, known as “Hojjat-ol-Islam Ghazaie”, gave a detailed interview with Khabar Jonub, in which he characterized Baha’i Spiritual Assemblies as “evil” and stated that 500 cases against the Baha’is were under investigation in the Revolutionary Court.

To support his claim that the Baha’is are “Israeli spies”, he presented this argument, “The Baha’is religiously consider themselves obliged to follow the House of Justice, and the House of Justice considers itself obliged to follow the government of Israel in terms of the Baha’i religion.” Accordingly, he called members of the Bahá’í administration “clear examples of infidels and organizational militia”. He did not mention the names of the Baha’is sentenced to death in this interview.

March 12, 1983, nine days after this interview, two Baha’i men and one woman were hanged. Yadollah Mahmoudnejad, Mona Mahmoudnejad’s father, was one of them...

May 23, 1983, a few months following Khabar Jonub’s publications of the death sentences, Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States at the time, issued a statement asking world leaders to join him in preventing the Iranian government from implementing the execution of 22 Baha’is.

In his statement, Mr. Reagan pointed out that 113 Baha’is had been executed since Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in islamic Iran. He stated the twenty-two individuals currently under death sentence “were not involved in any political plan or regime overthrow and did not cause anyone’s death.”

May 27, 1983, three days after President Reagan’s statement, Ruhollah Khomeini, used the occasion of his speech on the 12th Shiite Imam’s birthday to responded sarcastically to the American President, saying, “Do you [Reagan] know what the Baha’is have done, or do you know what is going on before you speak?” Or are you just prophesizing? If we have no other reason to believe that they are American spies, Reagan’s support for them alone is enough.”

Upon hearing these words from Khomeini, the families of the condemned Baha’is knew that more executions were coming.

Nahid Eshraghi, Roya Eshraghi’s sister and Ezzat Janami’s daughter, told Radio Farda that Reagan’s message and Khomeini’s response in his speech were the “main reason” for the execution of her mother and sister...

[b]A few hours before the execution, on the afternoon of June 18, the prisoners were allowed to meet their families. The families said that their imprisoned loved ones told them in the pre-execution meeting that the interrogators tried to make them “repent”. The interrogators gave them two options, “Islam or execution.”

According to witnesses, these women affirmed their belief in the Baha’i Faith and “did not convert to Islam”.

A few hours after the meeting and only three weeks after Ruhollah Khomeini’s speech, these ten Baha’i women were executed by hanging on June 18, 1983.

The bodies of their loved ones were not released to the families. Only a few of the family members, including Mona Mahmoudnejad’s mother and Zarin Moghimi’s mother, were allowed to see the bodies in the morgue. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps buried the bodies of these women secretly and en masse in the old cemetery of Shiraz known as “Golestan Javid”. One year later Golestan Javid was confiscated by the authorities. It 2014 it was destroyed.[/b]

Unanswered Questions
Four decades after the mass execution of Baha’i women in Shiraz, there are still unanswered questions about why and how these women were executed.

It’s understood that their participation in Baha’i Administration, Baha’i children’s education, as well as transcripts from their interrogations showing how they answered their interrogators, were factors that led up to their conviction and execution...

It is curious that from the statements of Hojjat-ol-Islam Ghazaie and Ruhollah Khomeini differed in their characterization of the alleged allegiances of the women. This detail was ignored in the tense atmosphere of that time.

Khomeini accused these ten women of “collaborating with America” in his speech. Ghazaie, in his claims, never mentioned any connection to America, rather, he stated these individuals were accused of “collaborating and spying with Israel”.

Ghazaie, in referring to the ten women, specifically characterized membership in Baha’i Spiritual Assembly as “equal to cooperation with Israel.” However, among the ten, only Nosrat Ghofrani was a member of Shiraz Bahá’í Assembly. The other nine did not serve on Spiritual Assemblies.

In an interview with Radio Farda, family members expressed their shock after hearing the news of the execution of their family members and did not expect them to be executed.

Mohammad Moghimi, Zarin Moghimi’s brother, told Radio Farda: “Zarin’s execution was the biggest shock of our lives. Why Zarin? I thought they would execute my father, who was in custody at the same time and was more well-known and older than him; But I didn’t expect my sister to be executed at all.”

Informed sources have told Radio Farda that among many people arrested and involved in this issue, Mona Mahmoudnejad was among the last who they believed was likely to be executed. First, because of her young age, and second, because this 17-year-old teenager had no organizational responsibility in the administration of the Baha’i community. There is some reason to suspect that the arrest and execution of Mona Mahmoudnejad was part of a predetermined plan. Azadeh Rohaniyan, one of Mona Mahmoudnejad’s friends, told Radio Farda that Mona friend had mentioned several times about a man following her in the alleys and streets (prior to her arrest). Once, after being followed to one location, she remained in that building for two hours. When she came out, the man was waiting for her continued to follow her..

At the same time, Mrs. Mahmoudnejad’s relatives mention the content of Mona’s school essays, one of which was critical of the persecution of Baha’is, and “her answers under to interrogators” as factors in why she was subjected to a death sentence.

There is also no clarity about the exact time of the execution of these women. On the afternoon of June 18, their families had their last visit with them in prison. This is documented by the prison visiting logs and statements of the families.. Following the visitation, , according to other women prisoners at that time, the ten women were not allowed to re-enter the prison.

On June 19, the next day, when the execution of these women was announced, some family members saw the bodies at 10:00 AM. . Witnesses have said that there were visible rope marks on the necks of each of the women.

Statements from some of the agents of the execution of this sentence, the Baha’i women were executed “in the final hours of June 18”. But as there are no official documents or reliable witness in this regard, this cannot be confirmed with certainty.

According to many family members of these women, until ” an independent investigation is held in court” and ” documents provided,” along with “the official testimony of the issuing and executing agents”, their questions will remain unanswered.

“‘Why are you taking that?’ I asked when an agent took away one of my son’s toys: a Santa in a snow globe,” Sanaz recalls. “He said: ‘It’s a symbol of Christianity, and should be confiscated!’”

“My son was crying profusely and wanted his tablet and toys,” Amid says. “It was very painful to see my son’s fear and tears.”

Amid and Sanaz had converted to Christianity a few years earlier, and after the Persian-speaking church they had been attending was told it could no longer welcome converts, they had started hosting church services in their home.

By the time of their arrest, in December 2015, Amid and Sanaz had been hosting church services for around three and a half years, and Amid says that “for a while” they had been anticipating the day of their arrest.

Because of this, he explains, the couple had even cancelled their Christmas party that year, and had hidden some of their personal items, like their passports, baptism certificates, and computer, which contained information about the names of church members, as well as audio files of sermons and worship songs.

They also had a number of Bibles and Christian books hidden away in a corner of their yard, covered with a cloth, and although the agents searched the house from 6.30 in the morning until noon, they didn’t find them.

But they did find the family’s Christmas trees.
“The agent took them and said: ‘They haven’t got just one or two, but three trees!’” Sanaz explains. “‘Now we’ll take you and give you a lecture so that from now on you celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad!’”

Amid’s elderly parents lived on the floor above them, and “cried a lot” during their arrest, Amid says, and asked: “Sir, where are you taking them? What will happen to them?”

“The officers didn’t answer their questions,” Amid says, “though one of them eventually lied: ‘In the afternoon or tomorrow, they’ll return home.’ Then he said to my son: ‘Don’t worry, your mum will come back soon and clean the house.’ My father, mother and son were crying, and mine and my wife’s hearts were full of pain.”

Sanaz adds: “My son Danial was afraid of the behaviour of the agents, and was crying, and now he was going to be left without us, and had to stay with his grandparents. I asked an agent to let me hold my son for a minute before leaving, but he wouldn’t allow it!”

Amid and Sanaz were then driven away, and detained separately in unknown locations – in conditions Amid describes as “excruciating”, and “like hell” – for 18 and seven days, respectively, during which time they were repeatedly interrogated about their Christian activities, threatened, and told to “repent and return to Islam”.

At first, they were also refused permission to call their son, but even when this permission was eventually granted, they were made to regret it.

“When I called, my husband’s family picked up the phone and cried when they heard my voice and said: ‘Where are you?’” Sanaz recalls. “‘Since the day you left, your child has only been crying and won’t stop!’ I could hear Danial crying. As a mother, there was nothing I could do to calm my child and it was very painful. I talked to my son for about two to three minutes. Hearing my son crying made me feel worse and I said to myself that I wish I hadn’t called.

“After I ended the call, the interrogator said: ‘Where is your Jesus now? You heard your child crying; now calm him down!’ I said: ‘I didn’t do anything bad or wrong!’ He said: ‘You changed the thinking of a generation, and you say I didn’t do anything!’”
After Sanaz’s release on bail, she was summoned again and told that her husband would only be released if they both signed two blank promissory notes, which essentially meant pledging to pay an unknown person the equivalent of $200,000.

“We want to be reassured that you won’t continue your Christian activities once you are released,” the interrogator explained to Amid when he was asked to add his signature to the notes. “If you start your activities again, we’ll arrest you, and this time we’ll take you to the prison because the promissory notes show you owe a lot of money!”

Even after he was released, Amid says they felt they were under constant supervision. For the first few days, he says they “didn’t even dare to pray at home”.

“We didn’t feel safe, even in our home,” he says. “We couldn’t talk easily, or even have marital relations. Everywhere we went, they deliberately showed themselves to us to convey the message that ‘we’re watching you’… They had stolen our peace.”

Less than two months after Amid’s release, the couple fled to Turkey. They were later sentenced, in absentia, to a year each in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic regime in favour of hostile groups”.

After their departure, the intelligence agents turned their attention to their families, banning them from leaving the country for 18 months, and summoning them several times for interrogation.

During one summons, Sanaz’s father was told: “We had mercy on Amid and Sanaz and temporarily released them. Tell them to come back and introduce themselves. We are an Islamic Republic; if they don’t come back, we can put them in a sack and bring them back! But if we have to go to get them ourselves, know that their sentence will be death!”
Amid and Sanaz have not returned, but the memories of those days still remain – for all of them.

“Even though many years have passed, our son Danial remembers all the bitter memories of our detention,” Amid explains. “He became very afraid of being left alone because of our arrest. We couldn’t leave him alone even for a few minutes. For example, when we went to the grocery store, I would ask him to stay behind but he would cry and say: ‘I’m afraid that they’ll take you and you won’t come back, or something will happen to you!’ When he was younger, even when he was playing in his room he would keep calling me and his mother to make sure we were home… It’s a little better now.”

Amid and Sanaz now have another son, Benjamin, who is today the same age that their firstborn was the day their lives changed forever.

‘Asylum-seekers are in a critical situation’
It’s now more than seven years since Amid and Sanaz arrived in Turkey and claimed asylum, but they are still waiting to be interviewed about their case.

“When we entered Turkey, the United Nations was here and told us the process would take two years,” Amid explains. “So we thought that that meant 2018. But now it is 2023, and our case is now in the hands of the Turkish police, and they haven’t done anything either.

“They always promise, ‘Go, and we’ll take care of it. Come back in another month, or a week, two days, or three days,’ but they never do anything. And it feels systematic. It’s like they have an official plan to postpone everything.”

Amid says that being refugees in Turkey is like living in “a big prison, where we aren’t allowed to decide on the smallest matters of our own, or even to go outside the city walls, because we are refugees”.

“Asylum-seekers who are Christians are in a critical situation,” he says. “Mine and my family’s situation is very sad, and not only my family’s but many Christian refugees who are here today. They are neither heard, nor are they allowed to be heard, and with the least tension or issue they are easily taken and sent back to the country that is waiting to imprison them, or something even worse.

“It’s sad to think that one day such a situation might happen to me, but not only to me, but to any of us. I want to say that I think something should be done, and I hope that maybe someone will read this and think that they can even help one family to get out of this situation.”

The plight of Iranian Christian refugees in Turkey was the subject of a recent report by Article18 and three partner organisations. You can read the report here , and Amid and Sanaz’s full Witness Statement here .

maestro299:
Something like this happened some years back in Pakistan. I don't know if this is the same incident but it was really gory...

Article18 cannot at this time share any more details about the incidents, but after very few publicly reported arrests of Christians so far this year, the news marks a clear change in approach.

Mansour Borji, Article18’s advocacy director, commented: “The reason for this sudden surge in nationwide arrests of Christians is not clear at this stage. What is obvious is that Iran has begun a fresh crackdown on civil liberties, and the traditionally vulnerable groups, like Christians, are on the front line of those targeted.”

Mr Borji drew a parallel between the recent visible return of the morality police to the streets, saying that “overall there seems to be a renewed or more aggressive crackdown on groups the regime feels threatened by”.

“The relative withdrawal of the so-called ‘morality police’ forces from the streets in recent months was perhaps an attempt to restore peace after months of protests that were violently suppressed,” he said. “However, that approach seems now to have given way to a new wave of aggressive social policing, which could potentially reignite protests, as only within a day of visibly reintroducing the morality police the people are back on the streets.”

With just two months until the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini – the event that sparked the unparalleled protests – Mr Borji added that the return to a more forceful approach may be “to send out a message, both nationally and internationally, that they are not moved or deterred, though the reality may be completely different as recent admissions by IRGC commanders and senior officials show that elements of the government and core elites feared an ‘imminent collapse’ of the system, while warning against the resurgence of protests”.

The incident took place in the Mithwara village in the Fatehpur area in UP's Barabanki following an argument between Riyaz (22) and his sister Aashifa (18).

Riyaz allegedly behead his sister with a sharp weapon and was on his way to the police station with her head in his hand when the police arrested him, Additional Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Mishra said.

Aashifa had recently eloped with her partner Chand Babu, a resident of the same village, Mr Mishra said.

However, the police recovered Aashifa a few days later and sent Babu to jail based on a complaint filed by the woman's family members, he added.

A police team reached the location where the woman was beheaded and sent the body for an autopsy after collecting the required evidence, the ASP said.

According to locals, Riyaz was opposed to his sister's relationship and the two often quarrelled over the issue, the police said.

A case has been registered and the accused has been arrested, the ASP said.

leokid866:
Ode Obasanjo did not get 25% in Abuja in the 1999-2000 election....please tell me the court that removed him from power....in that same year he lost in Ogun state......when they tell you to read 📚 you refuse instead you come online and be spewing rubbish and your fellow idiots will carry it and spread amongst themselves

The 19-year-old victim was hospitalized after the attack and required 50 stitches.

So far, no riots, no rioting, no burning cities in France. But the fate of the young Nissan is moving. She was out with her boyfriend in Toulouse on Wednesday night. There she was accosted by young muslims, reports the French newspaper “La Depeche”. The perpetrators stabbed the woman 50 times with broken glass.

The Taliban said earlier this month they were giving all salons in Afghanistan one month to wind down their businesses and close shop, drawing concern from international officials worried about the impact on female entrepreneurs. The Taliban say they are outlawing salons allegedly because they offer services forbidden by Islam and cause economic hardship for grooms’ families during wedding festivities.

The ruling came from the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada — the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls, following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment.

In a rare sign of public opposition to Taliban orders, dozens of beauticians and makeup artists gathered in the capital of Kabul to protest the ban.

“We are here for justice," said one protester who identified herself as Farzana. “We want work, food and freedom."

The Taliban sprayed the women with water and shot their rifles into the air to disperse the gathering.

Farzana later said the women were going to the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, urging protesters to stay together.

One protester told The Associated Press the demonstration started at around 10 a.m. in the Shar-e-Naw area of the capital. She did not want to give her name for fear of reprisals.

“The purpose of our demonstration was that they (the Taliban) should reconsider and reverse the decision to close beauty salons because this is about our lives,” she said. “All of us, 50 to 60 women, participated. Our slogan was work, bread and freedom.”

The protest continued into the early afternoon, when the Taliban arrived to break up the crowd, she said. They used tasers on the demonstrators.

“They put two or three of our friends in the car and took them," she said.

Nobody from the Taliban-run government was immediately available for comment about the protest.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA, criticized the Taliban use of force in dispersing the protesters.

“Reports of the forceful suppression of a peaceful protest by women against the ban on beauty salons — the latest denial of women’s rights in #Afghanistan — are deeply concerning,” the U.N. mission said in a tweet. “Afghans have the right to express views free from violence. De facto authorities must uphold this.”

Meanwhile, the Taliban-run Ministry for Vice and Virtue, which had announced the ban on beauty salons in early July, said Wednesday it was destroying goods and instruments used for the “promotion of music and corruption” and posted photos of bonfires on Twitter.

“These materials, which were collected from immoral programs in Kabul and some provinces in the past few months, and which caused the loss of our youth and the deterioration of society, were destroyed according to Sharia (Islamic law),” the ministry tweeted.

Women in Afghanistan have held a rare protest against the Taliban's decision to shut female beauty parlours and salons.

Women shouted "work, bread and justice" while they were gathered in the capital city, Kabul.

Taliban guards responded with water cannons, and some protesters said stun guns were also used against them.

Women's rights have been increasingly restricted since Taliban rulers returned to power in 2021.

Around 50 women took part in the protest on Wednesday, according to AFP news agency.

Shimran:
We don't always condemn the acts and the perpetrators but rush to condemn the religion like the religion backed such barbaric acts.

Let's learn to differentiate Islam from culture and traditions.

His partner quickly revealed to him: “I just don’t love you any more”. This open rejection of his attractive wife was too much for the 35-year-old – and meant the death sentence for her!

What happened afterwards was described by the 35-year-old in the intensive care unit of the Vienna General Hospital to his defence lawyer and the murder investigators from the Vienna police department during the first interrogation. Without any emotion, he told them how he had executed the 28-year-old woman with 30 stabs of a knife. His only question was: “Is she really dead?” He made it perfectly clear why he had killed her: “I had to restore my honour!

Abdul S. himself is in Vienna General Hospital because he jumped out of the window on the 3rd floor of the flat where the crime took place in order to take his own life. “He is currently paraplegic,” says his defence lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger. But there is a chance of recovery in the coming months. The cost of his hospital bed (without treatments): 9000 euros per day. The suspected murderer has been in the hospital bed for a fortnight, he will be treated for another two weeks. That adds up to 252,000 euros!

A second suicide attempt by the Syrian shows that his life is apparently worth as little to him as that of the mother of his children: After he woke up from his coma, he bit through the intubation tube for his ventilation – in vain.

You the minorities should not always ask to be respected.

The disruption was the second in two months suffered by the Mawar Sharon Church ( Gereja Mawar Sharon, GMS) congregation as it met in a café in Setia village, Binjai Kota Sub-District, Binjai, near the provincial capital, Medan.

After demonstrations against the church, a hijab-clad Muslim woman led the disruption of the service, a video on social media shows. Standing next to a police officer, she is seen loudly refusing to allow Christians to worship.

In the video uploaded by permadiaktivis2 on Instagram and quoted by Kilat.com., she asks why, in a Muslim-majority area, there must be Christian worship services that she and her Muslim colleagues have the responsibility of continuing to disrupt.

“You the minorities should not always ask to be respected. We must respect each other as the government has regulated it,” she says. “What’s the point of setting the rules, if the rules have to be violated again? We have mediated back and forth, but they were never met – provided, facilitated but not implemented.”

In the commentary section of the post, religious rights activist Permadi Arya, known as Abu Janda, objected to the disruption.

“Suddenly they come screaming in protest, ‘Why are they worshiping in Muslim-majority areas?’” Arya wrote. “Since when are non-Muslim not allowed to worship in a Muslim area?”

Indonesia’s Joint Ministerial Decree of 2006 requires a permit only for worship venues used on a permanent basis, “excluding family places of worship,” Arya wrote, adding that the requirement does not apply to a café or home.

“According to The Joint Decree of the Two Ministers, Chapter 1, Article 3, what needs a permit is the construction of a church,” he wrote. “Holding worship at home, shop-houses and cafes needs no permission.”

Such homes, cafés and shop-houses can be equated with Muslim traditional prayer-rooms (musholla ), and since Muslims need no permission for those, Christians should receive equal treatment, he said.

The church’s worship was previously disrupted on May 19, when at least 40 Muslims stopped the midday service at the café.

The body of Rahila Rahdar was found dead in her parents’ house in the city of Khoy in West Azerbaijan province on Thursday. On Sunday Rahdar’s parents confessed to strangling their daughter “using a shawl,” saying it was done to protect the family’s “honor,” Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported.

The child bride was only 14 when she was forced by her parents into marrying a man 12 years her senior last year. The husband had accused Rahdar of engaging in sexual relations with another person days before she was killed, according to Hengaw.

In [islamic] Iran, the legal age for marriage is 13 for girls and 15 for boys. However, the Islamic republic allows children to marry at younger ages with their fathers’ consent and the permission of a judge.

The state-owned Statistical Centre of Iran in April reported that more than 20,000 girls under the age of 15 were legally married between March and December 2022, and that more than one thousand girls under 15 gave birth during that time period.

Family honor is often used as an excuse for the murder of women and girls at the hands of their male kin - fathers, brothers, and husbands. At least 25 women were killed in Iran's western Kurdish provinces (Rojhelat) between March 2022 to March 2023, five of whom were so-called honor killings, according to Hengaw.

Fadi was an architect who had been working for the company for several years, with Mohammed recently joining as a bulldozer driver. On 15 May, a week after Fadi’s birthday, Mohammed was in the bulldozer when he turned from digging to attack Fadi, who was overseeing work. Fadi tried to escape but Mohammed pursued him until he was killed.

Mohammed confessed to the crime and spent four days in prison, before being sent to a mental health hospital for treatment. It’s unclear to what extent, if at all, psychological issues contributed to this attack, but they are often cited by Muslim extremists to explain their attacks against Christians to avoid prosecution.

Like so many families who’ve been affected by persecution in Egypt, there is no guarantee that Fadi’s family will receive justice from the legal system. Despite this uncertainty and the anguish they are in, they have already decided to forgive Mohammed.

These victims are the latest casualties in a string of assaults on local Christian villages that have claimed at least 35 lives since Truth Nigeria issued an early warning of impending attacks in the region on July 4. Within hours of the alert being published, one person was killed in western Riyom County, and in the following days, more victims fell in the surrounding areas. These accounts were reported to Truth Nigeria by witnesses of the attacks.

The attacks are attributed to Islamic terrorists, members of the Fulani ethnicity. The violence has been ongoing in the region since May 16, taking the lives of over 350 [Christian] residents, according to international monitoring group Intersociety.

The Fulani, one of Africa’s largest tribes, known for their cattle-herding skills, claim up to 10 million members in Nigeria. A radicalized faction of the Fulani people has been accused of killing three times more Christians than the insurgency known as Boko Haram in recent years. According to Intersociety, this year alone, Fulani militants have jointly killed more than 2,500 Nigerian Christians, including at least 500 in Plateau State.

The reason for the continual assaults? The attacks in Mangu are primarily aimed at land seizure and ethnic displacements, says Plateau State legislator Bala Fwanje, who also accuses the military of indifference. “More than 50 of our communities in Mangu County have been displaced in the past two months. Our people can no longer go to their farms or homes, and yet nothing is being done,” he told Truth Nigeria.

Warnings of impending attacks have largely been ignored by Operation Safe Haven, a sizable military task force stationed throughout the state.

The two women slain on were in their mid-40s, according to local community leader and attorney, Dalyop Solomon. They were gunned down by terrorists hiding behind tall trees, near their village of Rim, Solomon said.

Map of four counties in Central Plateau State illustrating path of Fulani cattle herd migrations and aligned with village attacks. Courtesy of Stefanos Foundation.

Newly elected Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, imposed a 24-hour curfew on nearby Mangu County to stem the tide of attacks that have claimed over 200 lives since May 16. However, within hours, eight people, including an infant, were murdered on the western outskirts of Jos. This incident followed a morning shooting in southern Riyom County, where a neighborhood watch group member was killed while the remaining 200 residents of Rinyan village attended church service.

The ambush site in Turu has been a scene of protests against perceived military complicity. Witnesses told Truth Nigeria that six armed men in military uniforms opened fire at a convoy of three motorcycles, killing all eight [Christians] on board, including a seven-month-old baby. The 9 pm attack occurred on the western edge of Turu, a community of 200 brick houses located 15 miles southwest of Jos, along a highway leading to the capital city of Abuja.

Military authorities in Jos have remained silent, refusing to respond to queries from Truth Nigeria. However, Turu has witnessed mass protests in recent years, led by local women against military collusion with terrorists.

On April 24, hundreds of women banged on the doors of three military vehicles, including an armored personnel carrier, demanding that the soldiers leave the area. This demonstration followed the murder of six local youths at a tin-mining camp outside the town, just hours after an early warning of an attack was relayed to a nearby military base.

Plateau State Assemblyman, Timothy Dantong, stated to Truth Nigeria, “We’re not questioning our military’s ability, but it seems they lack the efficiency to prevent terrorists from killing and capturing communities. It looks like the Fulani have raised militias stronger than the Nigerian military because, even when they are linked to an attack, nothing is done.”

The ongoing violence has sparked outrage among Nigerian Americans who are demanding international intervention.

Ms. Felicia Sodipe, who leads a local Berom community in the United States, is among those demanding action. “The continual loss of lives and property is unacceptable, with our government failing to provide adequate security,” she wrote in a message to Truth Nigeria. She implores the U.S. government and the international community to apply pressure on the Nigerian Government to uphold basic human rights and ensure the safety of all citizens. “Enough is enough,” she concluded.