HRANA News Agency – 11 Human Rights organizations have condemned the destruction of Sunnis’ place of worship in Tehran in a statement and called on international organization and Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran to react to these actions of Iranian government. The full text of the statement is as follows:

Human Rights Organizations’ Statement in Condemning the Destruction of Sunnis’ Place of Worship in Tehran

After 3 decades of governing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Sunni citizens have no mosques in Tehran to pray and worship. Although the 12th article of the Iranian constitution states that “all the non-Shiite religious fates are totally respected and their followers are free to practice their fates” the discriminative policies on Sunnis has increased so much that the “rented houses” which are used by them as “places of worship” are being closed or destroyed by extrajudicial forces.

In a significant example, on the morning of Wednesday, July 29, 2015 the municipal authorities while being backed by the police and security forces destroyed a large part of a Sunni place of worship in Punak of Tehran.

There are few points to be paid attention to in this regard:

1. The estimated population of Sunnis in Tehran is hundreds of thousands, however they are not allowed to have a mosque in the Iranian Capital. Tehran can be known as the only Islamic Capital in the world where there is no Sunni mosque.

2. Because of the tremendous and increasing pressure on the Sunni population of Tehran, their places of worship are also not official. They are in fact some “rented houses” being used as a place of worship.

3. The Sunnis’ central place of worship in Tehran was the “Punak place of worship” which was being used as a place for daily, Friday and Eid prayers by the Sunnis. It was already closed several times.

4. On January 17, 2015 the municipal and police forces closed this place of worship. A week before on January 10 and simultaneously with the “Islamic Unity Conference” in Tehran the security forces prevented Molavi Abdolhamid Ismailzehi, Sunni Friday prayers Imam of Zahedan, from holding prayers in this house.

5. By the consistency of Sunni Imams the house was reopened after a while but it was still not allowed to hold Friday and Eid prayers in it.

6. Despite all these limits finally some parts of the ground floor and the cellar which was used as the rest room were destroyed.

Since prohibiting daily, Friday and Eid prayers and destruction of places of worship and limiting religious practices are against the UN Human Rights Charter and are considered to be an obvious violation of Human Rights and Rights of Freedom of Expression and Thought, we condemn it and call for judicial investigations and holding the perpetrators accountable. This act was totally illegal and against the 12th article of the constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran. We call on Iranian authorities to reconstruct the house and take the required measurements to make sure the Sunni population will have their religious rights as well as Shiites and other fates and put an end to the discriminations against the Sunnis.

We also call on Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran to react to these actions of Iranian government and Mr. Heiner Bielefeldt, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and all international organizations and human rights activists to express their official objection to the violation of Sunni population in Iran.

Unity for Iran

Human Rights and Democracy Association for Iran – Hamburg

Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation

The Association to Defend Human Rights and Democracy – Sweden

Iran Human Rights

Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan

Verein Südwind in Human Rights Council

The Baloch Activists Campaign

Human Rights Committee of Iranian Researchers Association

Human Rights Activists in Iran

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center