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Arslan Shaikh served as a “general studies” teacher with Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy from August 2020 to April 28, 2023. In his filed complaint, he alleges, throughout his time at the school, he observed “disproportionate allocation of discipline and removal of black children relative to their non-black counterparts.”

Moreover, Shaikh claims that a report he wrote, documenting racist comments aimed at black students by other students, was “edited … to omit [mention of] the overt racism.”

He also alleges that “non-black children were given privileges denied to black children. On one occasion, several non-black students received failing grades.

These grades were then changed to ‘passing’ by Defendants. In the three years that Plaintiff taught at Al-Aqsa, he never saw this benefit conferred to black children.”

On April 27, 2023, Shaikh claims that during a conversation with the school principal, Shireen Hammoudeh, he was informed of a complaint lodged against him by students. Principal Hammoudeh reportedly told Shaikh that the complaint was only filed because “they’re black and are trying to manufacture a lawsuit.” She allegedly promised to “find a reason to get rid of [the black students].”

Shaikh informed other administration members at the school about the “display of overt racism,” only to be fired a few hours later.

The school’s 2019 “parent-student handbook” declares that Western culture is “toxic to Muslims.” And the uniform guides for the school require that female students be completely covered.

The Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy is part of the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, a prominent Islamist mosque in downtown Philadelphia, closely involved with hardline national Islamist groups.

A photograph of the court ruling began circulating on social networks on July 10, sparking outrage among Iranians over the increasing number of cases targeting women who defy compulsory veiling laws.

In an act of defiance against the ideology and laws of the Islamic Republic, a growing number of women have appeared in public without hijab since nationwide protests erupted in September last year.

Some defiant women were arrested, summoned by the authorities and faced legal cases, while hundreds of businesses were shut down for allegedly failing to enforce the Islamic Republic’s strict dress codes on their customers.

A civil activist in Tehran who has chosen not to wear the hijab in public, tells IranWire that the Iranian judiciary seeks to "humiliate women and undermine their efforts to create social change."

The Second Criminal Court of the Judicial Complex in Tehran said the woman in the latest case was affected by the “no-hijab infectious disease” and accused her of engaging in "sexual promiscuity."

The woman was imposed the travel ban over concerns she could engage in "anti-Iranian" activities during foreign trips.

According to the court, flouting compulsory hijab laws is an "anti-social" behavior that constitutes "a contagious mental illness."

It claimed that Western security services "exploit this illness, furthering their anti-Iranian agenda within Iranian society."

A friend of the woman tells IranWire she was tried in absentia: "About a month ago, she received an unexpected SMS instructing her to click on a link to view a court notice related to her alleged hijab violation. After clicking the link, she discovered the text of the court summons, which stated that she was being sued for publicly removing her hijab from her head, and required her to appear in court on a specified date."

"She maintained her innocence, explaining that she hadn’t committed any crime and that her scarf had simply fallen off while she was walking."

The source adds that her friend, who decided not to attend the hearing, received an SMS five days after the scheduled date for the court session saying she had been sentenced in absentia.

"On what grounds do they accuse a person of promoting debauchery and prostitution, of having mental and sexual illnesses, of being antisocial and abnormal, and of seeking public attention?” her friend asked.

The woman has 20 days to appeal the ruling, which claimed that she was identified by facial recognition cameras. According to IT experts, the Islamic Republic still lacks such cameras, as well as a comprehensive citizen identity database.

IranWire’s investigations have shown that the government does not bear the costs of psychotherapy sessions imposed by the judiciary. These sessions are often provided at an exorbitant price by clinics affiliated with or close to the judiciary.

“People must shoulder the costs themselves and spend a minimum of 26 million tomans ($520) twice a week for six months," a person with knowledge of the matter says.

Abudu Amisi of Kasanvu village, Pallisa District was stabbed multiple times while returning from a market in Kasasira West village, Kasasira Town Council, in Kibuku District, and died en route to a hospital, eyewitnesses said.

Amisi had accepted Christ on June 22 after six months of learning about Christianity. He is survived by his wife and 3-year-old son.

Amisi had ties with a Muslim missionary active in Pallisa and Kibuku districts, said a Christian leader whose identity is withheld for security reasons.
“Immediately after his conversion, Amisi was very fearful of his life from the Muslims in his village at Kasanvu in Pallisa District,” the leader told Morning Star News. “The church then housed him in a rental house, and he remained indoors for two weeks.”

On Saturday ( July 8 ), the church sent two young men to go with Amisi to buy food at a market in Kasasira for a seminar training of Christian leaders, he said. One of the young men said that as they entered the market area, a Muslim who seemed to know Amisi from his village greeted them cheerfully, and they spent 10 minutes with him before proceeding to the marketplace.

“After buying the food items, we then began our journey back to the church,” said the young man, whose identity is withheld for security reasons. “About 50 meters from the market area, people began shouting and mentioning the name of Amisi, saying, ‘Here comes the betrayer of Islam. He should not see the light of the day.’ There and then they surrounded him and then began cutting him with long knives on his head, face and neck, and fractured his legs and hand.”

The terrified young men fled and called the church pastor, who immediately phoned police, and officers rushed to the scene.

“They hurriedly tried to rescue him, but it was too late, they had already cut Amisi, and he had lost a lot of blood and died on the way to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital,” the pastor said.

Amisi’s body was taken to a mortuary, where it remained as church leaders feared burial could occasion further retaliation from area Muslims, he said.

“We are now engaging the Pallisa County Council to assist in reaching out to the family of deceased for his burial,” he said.

Police were searching for the assailants.

Nearly two years since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, women and girls are struggling with their mental health as they endure harsh restrictions on their freedoms.
They cannot travel without a male relative, have been denied post-primary education , are banned from numerous public spaces, and have had their access to employment and healthcare curtailed.

Hardly any other country restricts women's rights as much as Afghanistan. Here, women report living in prison-like conditions that widely forbid them from taking part in public life.

"Over the past 22 months, every aspect of women's and girls' lives has been restricted . They are discriminated against in every way," the United Nations ( UN) Deputy High Commissioner for
Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif said in a statement on June 19.

A recent report by the UN Human Rights Council stated further that the "grave, systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls is at the heart of Taliban ideology and rule," adding that the Taliban "may be responsible for gender apartheid."

Women no longer able to study
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women have been banned from higher learning. Initially, women and men were strictly separated at universities. For some time, female students could only be taught by other women or older men. In late 2022, a decree by the Afghan Education Ministry put an end to this and expelled women from universities completely.

Family Minister Lisa Paus on women's rights in Afghanistan:

It's unclear how many women are now no longer able to study. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has estimated that some 90,000 women could be affected — that's how many were enrolled in 2018.

At the time, the Taliban justified their prohibition by claiming that many female students hadn't worn appropriate Islamic attire, such as a hijab, and that there had been a mixing of genders.

In December 2022, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it was hard to imagine how Afghanistan would develop and tackle the challenges it faced without the active participation of women and the education they bring to the table, pointing out the "devastating impact on the country's future."

According to various media reports, women are now continuing their education in online seminars.

However, due to the country's poor internet network and the lack of jobs and career prospects, this is hardly an alternative.

Women excluded from the job market
Not only have women been banned from education, they have also been excluded from the job market.

According to the International Labor Organization, the number of women employed last year was down by 25% compared to mid-2021.

The Taliban have forbidden women from working with the United Nations or with nongovernmental organizations. This has led to several international NGOs such as Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE to shut down their operations in Afghanistan, because they could not implement their projects without female staff. Thousands of female government employees were let go or even paid to stay at home.

Earlier this year, Yamini Mishra, regional director for Amnesty International's South Asia office, said barring women from working for NGOs in Afghanistan was exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. "It is as if the Taliban are intentionally driving the country into famine," she said.

"Their discriminatory policies are bringing shocking levels of food insecurity and making the delivery of international assistance almost impossible," she added. Women in need of assistance can only receive aid from other women, as they are forbidden from being in contact with men who are strangers to them.

Health care for women also severely restricted
Afghanistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for women, mothers and babies. Each year, about 70 out of 1,000 women die while pregnant or giving birth. Many mothers do not have enough to eat, which raises the risk of complications during pregnancy. After giving birth, they struggle to feed their children.

The humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders has said the Taliban's decision to exclude women from higher education and their employment at aid organizations has drastically worsened access to medical treatment. This is particularly due to the travel restriction the Taliban have imposed on women.

In rural areas, the nearest hospital is often more than the 75 kilometers (47 miles) away, and women aren't allowed to travel without being accompanied by a "mahram" — a father, husband or brother acting as chaperone. To make matters worse, many people in Afghanistan can barely afford the fare for such a long journey, let alone for two people.

What's more, the Taliban has ruled that women can only be treated by female doctors. So far, women have been allowed to continue working in hospitals — but there are too few female doctors, especially in rural areas. And they, too, are bound by the same movement restrictions as their patients. Those who cannot find a mahram to accompany them to work are forced to stay at home. This is why practically all of Afghanistan suffers from a lack of female doctors and midwives.

Strict dress code, no sports
Clothing restrictions have become equally restrictive. In the summer of 2022, Afghan TV presenter Sonia Niazi fought against the regulation to cover her face, but was forced to comply when on air.

In Afghanistan, women are required to only wear a burqa, a garment which covers the entire body. If a woman does not comply with this regulation, her male relatives risk jail time.

Women in Afghanistan are no longer allowed to play soccer, not even when wearing a burqa. Female athletic teams are no longer allowed to compete.

Due to this rule, Afghanistan's national women's teams live in exile in Australia. The Taliban's edict forbids women in Afghanistan from visiting parks, fitness studios, public pools, gymnasiums and sports clubs, making sports practically impossible for women.

Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan countries have fled or been forced out of Tunisia's port city of Sfax aft racial tensions flared following the 3 July killing of a Tunisian man in an altercation between locals and migrants.

Many have been left to fend for themselves in harsh conditions in remote desert areas near Tunisia's borders with Algeria and with Libya.

Around 10 days ago one body was found in the Hazoua desert, near Algeria's border, and another was discovered on Monday night, Nizar Skander, a spokesman for the court in the southeastern Tozeur district, told AFP .

"Both bodies are of men, and rescuers have recovered the one found yesterday," a witness, who declined to be identified for security reasons, added.

The witness, a local merchant, told AFP that in one week two convoys were seen transporting migrants to the desert, with nearly 100 left in the vicinity of Hazoua.

"Many of these migrants are trying to reach oases in the area where residents give them food and water," the witness said.

Skander said the authorities have launched a "dubious death" investigation to determine the exact cause of the two fatalities.

Youssouf Bilayer, 25, of Ivory Coast, told AFP on Tuesday that he was arrested on 4 July in Sfax where he had worked for four years as a welder and was taken to the Gafsa area near the border with Algeria.

"We were in six buses and they left us in the forest - they made us get out by beating us," he said. His group of six people was now moving northwards.

'Suffering a lot'
"We want out of here and to be taken to Tunis or Sfax," he said, adding that they were 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Kasserine.

"We are suffering a lot. We were able to find a little water in the forest, but we've got nothing to eat. The police won't let people give us food, all we can do is charge our phones a little," Bilayer said.

He said that when they try to continue their journey the police turn them back towards the forest and the border with Algeria.

"This has already happened five times," he said.
The crackdown on migrants in Sfax - a departure point for many hoping to reach Europe - erupted after the funeral of the 41-year-old Tunisian man who had been stabbed to death.

Aid and rights groups have called for the stranded migrants to be helped as a matter of urgency.

According to Human Rights Watch, many migrants near the border with Algeria "risk their lives" if they are not provided with immediate assistance.

The watchdog estimates that there are between 150 and 200 migrants in that region.

Several days ago HRW carried a report quoting witnesses as saying that "several" migrants had died near the Algerian border.

Mamadou, a migrant from Guinea who gave only his first name, spoke to AFP on Monday by phone from the Algerian side of the border.

"Please help us. If you can send the Red Cross here, help us, otherwise we will die. There is nothing here. There's no food, there's no water," he said.

He could not be reached again by phone on Tuesday.
Tunisia has seen a rise in racially motivated attacks after President Kais Saied in February accused "hordes" of undocumented migrants of bringing violence to the country, and alleging a "criminal plot" to change its demographic make-up.

A cleric was called at the location and she was made to embrace Islam after which the accused raped her there. She stated that following the conversion, the cleric who is presently being hunted by the police informed her that she is now a Muslim.

The incident reportedly occurred at the Jafarganj police station area of Fatehpur. On 7 July, the day of the girl’s disappearance, her mother lodged a missing complaint with the police in which Saif Ali, a native of Jehanabad, was indicted of enticing the former and a case under the Indian Penal Code of 363 and 366 for kidnapping was registered. She was recovered on the 11th and handed over to her family members and the perpetrator who also worked at a brickyard was apprehended.

The gunmen raided the village, shooting sporadically at the victims who were headed home for the night. The eight-month-old and her father were returning from the hospital when they were gunned down.

This attack comes as communities in central and northern Nigeria have faced rising terrorist attacks.

“[The Fulani militants] continue to unleash terror on innocent citizens in the communities of Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Jos South and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau state in renewed attacks since after 2023 General Elections,” said the National Publicity Secretary of Berom Youth Movement in a statement.

The barbaric incident happened in Bindki, Fatehpur district of UP. The girl, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, is an orphan and doesn’t have a house of her own.

She earns a living by hawking clothes. So when Mohammed Anees Raeen and Mohammed Shamim Qureshi offered to arrange a meeting with the Lekhpal (govt. village clerk) to help her obtain a house under the PM Awas Yojana, she agreed to meet them on May 10.

The two made her sit in their car, and then took it to a secluded area where both gang-raped her. When the girl asked for water, they urinated into her mouth and recorded the act. They then dumped her, threatening to kill her if she told anyone.

The girl went to the police station, but [islamic] police refused to lodge a complaint. The girl still didn’t give up and approached the courts who then ordered the police to lodge an FIR.

Finally, police lodged the FIR under IPC 376-D (gangrape), 354-C (recording private images), 506 (criminal intimidation) and under the SC-ST Act, against Anees, Shami and 2 others.

Shockingly, the accused were yet to be arrested as per this local news report filed on July 1.

“A girl wearing a black coat and scarf, along with her glasses, was brought to us. It was Simin Saberi. As soon as she entered, we all stood up and gathered around her. Despite the circumstances, she maintained a constant smile and updated us on the situation outside the prison. Simin appeared genuinely happy to be with us. She shared that one of her friends had a beautician’s exam that day and had asked her to be a model. Simin agreed, saying, ‘My friend curled my hair, and she did well on the exam. So, I came to prison with curly hair, all dressed up.'”

Simin Saberi was arrested in October 1982 and, eight months later, on June 18, 1983, she was executed alongside nine other Baha’i women in Shiraz due to their religious beliefs.

Who was Simin Saberi?
Simin, among the Baha’is of Shiraz, was renowned for her vibrant, joyful and dynamic personality. Her friends described her as witty and brave. She endured many of the persecutions inflicted upon the Baha’is in Shiraz, ranging from the confiscation of homes and belongings to job terminations, ultimately leading to her imprisonment and execution.

Simin was born in 1958, in Dehbid village near Abadeh. Being the youngest and eleventh child in the family, she experienced a childhood and adolescence marked by frequent relocations until, in 1977, she obtained a diploma from Reza Shah High School in Shiraz.

A year later, Simin secured a position as a secretary at the Fars Marvdasht Agricultural Company.

However, shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, she fell victim to the “Purification Law,” resulting in her dismissal due to her affiliation with the Baha’i faith. With her father being elderly and unable to work, Simin resorted to sewing at home to support the family, and working as a salesperson at a shop owned by one of the Shiraz Baha’is.

In the book Flowers of Shiraz, Simin Saberi’s mother is quoted, recounting their experiences:

“Simin, my daughter, displayed remarkable patience, resilience and energy. Before the Revolution, we lived in [a house in] a garden owned by a Baha’i individual, a few kilometres away from Marvdasht.

During the Revolution, one night, some people came to our house. The electricity was cut, and stones rained down upon us. The room’s windows shattered … Fear gripped us deeply. I had two young daughters and a newlywed bride in the house. Finally, with the help of my son, we managed to reach his car and flee the area. When we were a significant distance from the city, we stopped … We were all in our pyjamas and barefoot, and it was cold. After finding some respite, we discovered that Simin’s legs were covered in shards of glass. We sat there, meticulously removing the glass from her feet, astounded by her endurance and patience.

Eventually, we arrived in Tehran under the same circumstances and returned home after a month. Upon our return, we had to rebuild our lives from scratch as we didn’t even possess basic necessities. With Simin’s assistance, we sewed and knitted for others until late at night, earning meager wages.”

Simin Saberi’s Arrest
Simin’s brother is quoted in the book Seven Girls as saying:

“The Revolutionary Guards had visited the home of a Baha’i in Shiraz, inquiring about a person named Simin Jaberi. We assumed that the Guards had mistakenly pronounced Saberi as Jaberi.

Consequently, I immediately called Simin, who was in Isfahan at the time, and emphasized that upon her return, she should avoid going to our parents’ house and instead come straight to my place. Simin complied with our request and, upon her return, spent the last month of her freedom at our home.”

On October 23, 1982, by order of Ziauddin Mir Emadi, the Shiraz Revolutionary Prosecutor, 38 Baha’is from Shiraz were arrested. Among those detained were two of Simin’s uncles. On the second day, Simin and her brother decided to visit their parents, knowing that their mother must be missing her brothers.

Simin’s brother recalls:

“When we arrived at our parents’ house by car, I noticed that the door was open. I thought our parents had forgotten to close it.

As I parked the car and we prepared to exit, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by several armed plainclothes agents. One of them leaned into the car window and asked for the names of all the passengers. When Simin introduced herself, the agent nodded with a mocking smile and said, ‘Shouldn’t you be in Isfahan?’ We stepped out of the car and entered the house, encircled by officers.”

He continues, “Inside the house, we were escorted by the guards. One of them turned to my mother, whose eyes were red from crying and who was sobbing, and spoke harshly, saying, ‘You claimed your daughter wasn’t in Shiraz.’ My mother, amidst tears, responded, ‘She lives with her brother, and we thought she had gone to Isfahan.’ Simin, observing the agent’s behavior towards our mother, displayed an extraordinary sense of confidence and courage, saying to the agent, ‘Why are you troubling my mother? If you’re looking for me, I’m right here.'”

“At 9pm, the guards collected all the books. The leader of the group, one of the guards, said to Simin, ‘You must come with us.’ Simin, with her usual sweet smile, shrugged her shoulders and said, ‘Let’s go.'”

Interrogation at the Shiraz Detention Center
The detained Baha’is were transferred to the Shiraz IRGC detention center. Due to space constraints, most Baha’i women were held in the same cell, with the exception of two individuals. Interrogations of the Baha’is began, accompanied by insults, humiliation, and in some instances, physical punishment.

One of Simin’s cellmates, as mentioned in the book Flowers of Shiraz, recounted her return to the cell after several days of interrogation:

“It was early in the night when Simin entered through the open front door. However, she appeared strikingly thin and pale. Initially, we assumed it was due to physical discipline, but her response indicated otherwise. We inquired if she was unwell, but the answer was negative once again. It became evident that she had endured tremendous suffering in those few days, leading to severe weakness. ‘You might find it hard to believe, but Simin’s weight had been halved,’ we remarked.”

Simin proceeded to share her experience with her friends, saying:

“They took me to the basement, blindfolded me, and instructed me to wait there until it was my turn. From the corner, I could hear the sound of whipping and a woman’s anguished cries. Each strike felt as though it landed on my own back. After some time, they brought me back up from the basement and into the interrogation room. They exposed me to the sight of Mahboobeh’s [another Baha’i woman] injured back. My heart burned with fury, but I tried to maintain composure and display indifference. I endured immense suffering, yet I did not yield.”

Transfer to Adel Abad Prison
On November 29, Simin and several other Baha’is were transferred from the IRGC detention center to Adel Abad prison. Forty additional Baha’is were also arrested in Shiraz and taken to the detention center.

Tavoos Pompousian, Simin’s mother, wrote her observations about her daughter’s time in Adel Abad:

“Despite the circumstances, Simin maintained a cheerful demeanor and wore a constant smile in prison, never revealing her inner sadness. She would always reassure us, saying, ‘I am fine, I am doing very well, and I have no problems.’ She lived with three people in a room, with dimensions of 5 x 2 meters, sometimes able to stand close to one another. They were like a unified entity, souls intertwined in several bodies. Whenever one of them fell ill, the others cared for and nursed them back to health.

During one of my visits, I noticed Simin feeling a bit bored, which saddened me. However, she quickly shared, ‘You have no idea how caring my friends are.

They would even offer me their blanket in the cold winter nights, despite my protests that they would catch a cold themselves.’ Simin dedicated herself to teaching sewing and knitting to non-Baha’i women every day, as Baha’is were not allowed to work within the prison. As described by one of the incarcerated women, Simin fearlessly and calmly answered every question posed to her.”

A Trial that Lasted Only Minutes
Once the interrogation of the Baha’i prisoners was completed, they were swiftly taken to court. The hearings were conducted behind closed doors, with no right to legal representation, and lasted only a few minutes.

The proceedings followed a specific format: Hojjat al-Islam Ghazaei, the Sharia judge of Shiraz, would begin by stating the charges against the accused, all of which revolved around their religious activities within the Baha’i community.

Then, the judge would pose the ultimate question to the prisoner: Islam or execution?

Typically, the Baha’is responded in a similar manner: “We embrace Islam, but we remain steadfast in our Baha’i beliefs.”

The judiciary would then remove the prisoner from the courtroom and pass a death sentence against them.

In Simin Saberi’s case, the charge sheet contained 16 charges. The initial two charges were being a Baha’i and an active member of the Baha’i community. The following 12 charges were related to Simin’s involvement in Baha’i community activities, such as attending nineteen-day gatherings, participating in educational classes and contributing to charitable funds.

The fifteenth charge was simply that she was single.

And final accusation was that, based on their own words, the accused showed no inclination to recant their beliefs, instead wishing to remain an active member of the Baha’i community and choosing the death sentence over renouncing their faith.

Announcing the Executions
On February 12, 1983, a local newspaper published an announcement from the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, declaring the death sentences of 22 Baha’is.

On February 23, Hojjat al-Islam Ghazaei, the head of the Shiraz Revolutionary Courts, spoke to the newspaper, confirming the death sentences of the detained Baha’is.

He also issued a warning to other Baha’is, urging them to convert to Islam before it was too late. In his statement, he said:

“I take this opportunity to caution all fair-minded and intellectual Baha’is to embrace dear Islam and rid themselves of the shame of adhering to Bahaism. Through this courageous act, they can escape the rational and logical condemnation of Bahaism before it becomes too late. They should seek guidance, for the day will come, not too far off, when the Islamic nation will fulfil its Sharia obligations concerning the Baha’is. The Baha’is will then realize that they are no stronger than the hypocrites, and the united community of Hezbollah [the party of allah] will not be powerless in eradicating them.”

The Hangings
On June 12, 1983, Mir Emadi, the prosecutor of the Shiraz revolutionary court, issued what he called a final chance for the imprisoned Baha’is. He instructed a Mr Torabpour, the head of the prison, to ask each Baha’i to repent four times, and if they refused, to proceed with their execution. The next day, the meetings with the Baha’is began. On June 13, Simin was taken to repent, but she remained steadfast in her beliefs and did not waver.

Simin held a deep love for her family, particularly her mother. Despite being the youngest child in the large Saberi family, she always offered her support and companionship to everyone. Her letters from prison reflect her longing for her family and a sense of responsibility towards them. In one such letter, she wrote:

“I find solace in remembering you. Please bring the things I have mentioned in my letters, but as I mentioned before, they should be items we already have at home, considering your financial situation…”

In Simin’s biography, her mother writes:

“A few weeks before her execution, during one of our visits, she said to me, ‘Mother, don’t expect me to come out of here.’ The following week, when we went to see her, she advised us to accept God’s will and not to worry. She reassured us three times. I nodded in agreement. She wanted to prepare us…”

On June 16, six Baha’is held in the men’s ward of Adel Abad prison were executed. Reports indicate that these six individuals had also been asked to recant their beliefs in the days leading up to their execution, but none of them renounced their faith.

While meeting with their families, the imprisoned women learned about the execution of the six Baha’i men. After the meeting, as was customary, the Baha’i women formed a line and proceeded to the prison hall, where they encountered the head of the prison and some guards.

The head of the prison separated 10 of the Baha’i women, including Simin, and took them away. This would be the last meeting between these ten Baha’i women and their friends. The guards led them to Chowgan Square, where they were hanged at an unknown time later that night.

Simin Saberi was a young woman of only 24 years when she was executed. She, along with nine other Baha’i women, did not leave behind any wills.

Vulnerability of Minority Women
Islamic Pakistan is facing global censure for its shaky commitments to safeguarding religious minorities and the unwillingness of the Pakistani government to denounce extremism without equivocation.

While Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws have been widely condemned by the international community, forced conversions are now the primary means of wiping out Christian communities in Pakistan, church leaders and rights activists say.

Despite attempts to pass legislation against forced conversions, especially in provincial assemblies, liberal Pakistani legislators have been unable to do so, nor amend Pakistan’s child marriage laws.

Samson Salamat, chairman of socio-political movement Rawadari Tehreek, said the murder of Shazia Imran was further evidence of the vulnerability faced by Pakistani women in general and minority women in particular.

“This gory incident is also an example that with forced marriage, minority women have to go through the trauma of changing their faith and in case of refusal, the result is even worse,” Salamat told Morning Star News. “Shazia’s case is crystal clear, but the circumstances show that the police are siding with the influential perpetrators instead of administering justice to the victim’s family. The situation is critical, as the family is fearful of even pursuing the case due to constant threat to their lives.”

Bishop Azad Marshall, president of the Church of Pakistan, condemned the killing and police inaction against the perpetrators.

“Our hearts go out to the children and other family members of our deceased sister,” Marshall told Morning Star News. “The manner in which the poor woman was raped and murdered and her body mutilated by acid has shocked the entire Christian community. We are now hearing such cases of aggression and brutality against Christian women almost on a daily basis, and we demand the government to take cognizance of such crimes and make examples of the perpetrators.”

The senior church leader said they had taken notice of the family’s appeal for help and vowed to stand with them in their pursuit for justice.

“We are already fighting to save our young girls from the scourge of forced faith conversions, but our married women are also increasingly being targeted to convert and marry Muslims,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”

Each year dozens of girls, mostly teenagers from the Hindu community in the southern province of Sindh, along with minority Christians in Punjab Province, fall victim to forced conversions facilitated by Muslim leaders and groups, according to rights activists.

At least 124 cases of forced faith conversions were reported in 2022, according to the Lahore-based Center for Social Justice; 81 Hindus, 42 Christians and one Sikh. Shockingly, 23 percent of the girls were below 14 years old, and 36 percent were between the age of 14 and 18 years. Only 12 percent of the victims were adults, while the age of 28 percent of the victims was not reported.

More On The Killing
A Christian family in Lahore, Pakistan is seeking justice and protection after four Muslims abducted, gang-raped and killed a widow for refusing to convert to Islam and marry the primary suspect, sources said.

In the killing of 40-year-old Shazia Imran Masih last month, the assailants slashed her neck and doused her with acid, her brother said, though it was not known if the acid burns came before or after her death. The primary suspect has confessed to the killing, according to police.

Shazia Masih’s husband also was killed a year and a half ago, and the family has seen no justice in that case either as police cast it as an accident, said her brother, Zafar Masih.

Shazia Masih, who began working as a nanny at a daycare center at the Lahore University of Management Sciences after her husband’s death, left her rented home in Lahore’s Mehar Town for work on June 6 but did not return, Zafar Masih said. He said that the primary suspect, Noman (known as Mani) Gujjar, had been pressuring her to convert to Islam along with her children and marry him.

“Shazia did not share this with us due to fears for our security, but three days before her abduction, she told [another relative] that Gujjar had threatened to kill her if she did not surrender to his demand,” Zafar Masih told Morning Star News.

After Shazia Masih’s oldest son, 16, informed Zafar Masih that she had not returned home, he and other relatives began searching for her. Unable to find her, they informed police of her disappearance on June 7.

“Later in the day we received a call from the Hyer police station that they had found a body from a plot that matched Shazia’s description,” Zafar Masih said. “We immediately went to the police station, but when we saw the body, we could not believe our eyes. Shazia’s jugular vein had been slit with a sharp object, and her body had been badly burnt by acid.”

A forensic examination revealed that she had been gang-raped before being killed, said Zafar Masih, a member of a local evangelical church.

Police arrested Gujjar, and though he confessed to the murder, officers seemed uninterested in arresting three suspected accomplices, Gujjar’s brother and two cousins, Zafar Masih said.

“The accused are very influential, and they have been persistently threatening us to reconcile and withdraw the case,” he said. “Due to these threats, we have been forced to go into hiding and are not even free to pursue the case. Gujjar is still in police custody, but we doubt that we’ll get justice for our sister, as the [islamic] police’s bias is evident by its inaction against the remaining accused.”

Zafar Masih said the incident had traumatized Shazia’s children, the oldest as well as a 7-year-old and a 6-year-old. His elderly mother is taking care of them.

“We have lost all hope for justice and appeal to our church leaders and government officials to provide justice and security to us,” he said.

Soon after a video appeal of the family began circulating on social media, Punjab police released a tweet from its official handle stating that they regretted the murder taking on a “religious color.”

“The main accused in his confessional statement has said that the woman had developed relations with him after her husband’s death and had now started blackmailing him, prompting him to murder her,” the tweet in Urdu stated.

[Islamic] Police were conspicuously silent, however, on any evidence of blackmail and how or why it would have been attempted, nor on why the remaining three suspects have not been arrested. Morning Star News made repeated attempts to question the superintendent of police and the investigating officer, but their phones remained inaccessible.

Three Iranian women converts to Christianity will appear in court tomorrow on unknown charges, this according to Article 18, an NGO dedicated to religious freedom in Iran and advocating on behalf of its religious minorities, especially Christians.

Arrested last month, the three women were held incommunicado in Tehran’s Evin prison for 40 days. Indicting people without formal charges is not unusual in Iran, nor is taking Christians into custody only for meeting in private homes to pray .

Officers with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence arrested Shilan Oraminejad, Razieh (Maral) Kohzady and Zahra (Yalda) Heidary at their respective homes in the early morning on 9 May.

Claiming to have search warrants, agents seized personal effects, including mobile phones, laptops, books and pamphlets "without giving any explanation,” Mehr Ministries report.

The three Christian women were taken to an unknown location. After 40 days incommunicado, they were able to call their families to tell them that they were in Evin prison, but were denied, again without explanation, legal counsel.

After meeting the women, relatives said that "they were not in a good physical condition,” Hamid Hatami, president of Mehr Ministries, told Voice of America Farsi. Since then, Shilan and Zahra have been released on bail pending trial, while Maral remains in custody, he added.

From the latest information, the first hearing, in which all three are set to appear, is tomorrow, 2 July, at the 28th branch of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

This story confirms the "sharp regression" of religious freedom in Iran, along with harsh crackdown following protests that broke out in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police.

This trend is reflected in the 2023 report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, published in May, which calls for the reclassification of the Islamic Republic as a "nation of particular concern (CPC)" for its "systematic and egregious” violations.

The horrific incident occurred on June 6, and it has spread a wave of fear and anger among minorities.

As per the details, Shazia was living in the Mehar Town area of Lahore with her three kids. The victim’s family claimed that the prime accused, Mani Gujjar, had been forcing Shazia to convert to Islam and marry him.

The family also claimed that Shazia’s husband, Imran, was killed 18 months ago by the same ‘thugs’, but the police deliberately turned that murder case into a case of accident to shield the accused.

The family said that the accused had threatened Shazia with dire consequences if she did not meet his demands.

The 40-year-old Christian victim was working as a caretaker at a daycare center at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) to earn bread and butter for her children.

On the tragic day of June 6, Shazia went to work, but she didn’t return home. The next day, the family filed a report at the police station, and after a few hours, the police informed them that they had found a body on abandoned land.

While talking about Shazia’s brutal murder, the family said that her throat was slit by a sharp-edged object after being raped, and acid was poured on her body.

It is pertinent to mention here that the family nominated four accused in the first information report, but the police have only arrested Mani Gujjar so far. Gujjar’s brother and two cousins are still at large.

While expressing grave concern over this tragic and inhumane incident, Voice For Justice Chairperson Joseph Jansen called for strict action against the culprits and demanded swift justice for the victimized family.

He said that the persecution of religious minorities needs to be curbed as soon as possible, and the authorities concerned should adopt strict measures to ensure the safety and security of the marginalized segment of society.

Disturbingly, incidents, where Christian girls and women are subjected to pressure, harassment, and violence due to their refusal to convert to Islam, are alarmingly common, he added.

According to eyewitnesses, a group of rioters suddenly attacked Father Palle, surrounding and targeting him for no apparent reason. They hit him with extreme force, knocking him hard to the ground. Worse still, these individuals continued to beat him when he was already on the ground, leaving the priest in critical condition.

In addition to this brutal attack, the attackers also committed a theft by taking Father Palle’s mobile phone and wallet.

Local authorities were quickly alerted and dispatched an emergency team to the scene. Father Palle was immediately taken to the nearest hospital, where he is currently receiving intensive care for his serious injuries.

This brutal attack sparked outrage and dismay within the local community and beyond. Members of the Congregation of Saint Vincent de Paul, as well as many residents, rallied to condemn this act of inexcusable violence and expressed their support and prayers for Father Palle’s speedy recovery.

Two Christian boys, one of them a minor, have been arrested and charged with blasphemy after a police officer alleged they had named a puppy Muhammed Ali and were laughing about it.

“The boys were booked under Section 295-C of the blasphemy law a statute which prohibits disrespect of the prophet Muhammed and is punishable by death.

On Friday 20th May a Judge sent the two boys to prison on judicial remand and now they face a potentially long prison sentence while they try to attain acquittal or bail.

Adil Babar (18 yrs) and neighbour Simon Masih (14 yrs) were arrested by Race Course Police in Lahore on Thursday 19th May, after an altercation led to a Muslim police officer alleging the Christians had blasphemed against Muhammed.

Police constable Zahid Sohail, accused the two Christian boys of having disrespected the Islamic prophet Muhammed, after a crowd of people intervened while he was beating the two boys.

Mr Sohail was questioned by local Muslim and Christian leaders at why he was beating the two boys so vigorously and though he claimed they had blasphemed, he could offer no description of the alleged crime.

Both boys categorically denied any use of blasphemous words or actions. The crowd seemed to believe them they live in an area where Muslims and Christians live together peacefully.

When he could not satisfy community elders that he was acting professionally, Mr Sohail left the location.

Later in the evening however, police raided the village and arrested the two boys. Charges were laid against both of them under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code which carries a death sentence. In a First Information Report (FIR) Mr Sohail claimed to have seen then naming a puppy Muhammed Ali and then sniggering about it.

Many Christian families in the area have vacated their homes and have travelled to relatives, as local mosques have begun to share the news of a blasphemy on their public address systems. There is great fear that a mob could attack the few Christians, about 500 families that live in this town.

When our officers spoke to local Christians they all felt this was simply a malicious attack because the boys are Christian. None were brave enough to talk into a camera or be in images as there are still simmering tensions in the area.

Babar Sandhu Masih the father of Adil, said:

“My son left school some years ago and was training to be an automobile-painter.

“He is a good hard-working boy and stepped in to save Simon who was being beaten for no apparent reason.

“How could a judge send two boys to prison on such baseless accusations.

“Adil’s mother is a heart patient she has suffered two strokes.

“I still have not told her what has happened, it will affect her badly when she realises the serious charges laid against Adil.”

Mr Masih, has said that neither boy owns a dog or puppy and that none of their neighbours have one.

Juliet Chowdhry, Trustee for British Asian Christian Association, said:

“This seems to be another false accusation based on an altercation.

“The two Christian boys may have said or done something that the Police Constable took offence to and his reaction has been abysmal.

“It is a poor indictment for Pakistan that law enforcers are willing to use draconian blasphemy laws to settle petty disputes.

“Knowingly fabricating a story to impose a death sentence on a young man and teenager is appalling.

“Christians in Pakistan can never feel safe when bigots like Mr Sohail are allowed to manifest hate in such fashion.

“The Government must abrogate the blasphemy laws of Pakistan or at the least ensure that authorities enforce existing laws that protect against misuse.”

According to data collected by the Lahore-based Center for Social Justice and People’s Commission for Minorities Rights, at least 57 cases of alleged blasphemy were reported in Pakistan between 1st January and 10th May 2023; four blasphemy suspects were lynched or extrajudicially killed during the same period.

8 incidents occurring in January, 17 in February, 7 in March, 19 in April, and 6 cases in May (up to the 10th) – amounting to 57 blasphemy accused individuals.