Azerbaijan, Baku, July 31 /Trend S.Isayev, D. Khatinoglu/
The U.S. government made clear its strong objections to the Iranian government's harsh and oppressive treatment of religious minorities and pushed for improvements in the country, the International Religious Freedom Report for 2011 said.
In case with Iran, according to the report, the State Department also engaged with NGOs and civil society to gain a greater understanding of the status of religious freedom in Iran.
Since 1999 the United States has designated Iran as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
On August 18, the secretary of state redesignated Iran as a CPC, and redesignated the existing ongoing restrictions on certain imports from and exports to Iran.
The report says government imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued during the year.
During the year, government-controlled broadcast and print media intensified negative campaigns against religious minorities in Iran, the report said.
All religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and housing.
According to the report, the constitution and other laws and policies in Iran do not protect religious freedom and in practice, the government severely restricted religious freedom.
The government's respect for and protection of the right to religious freedom continued to deteriorate, the report said.
U.S. strongly objects to Iran government's treatment of religious minorities - report
U.S. government made clear its strong objections to the Iranian government’s harsh and oppressive treatment of religious minorities and pushed for improvements in the country, the International Religious Freedom Report for 2011 said.
