SRW reports widespread violations against Shia Muslims in multiple countries
Shia Rights Watch (SRW)—an international pro-Shia rights organization—has released its January 2025 report, detailing significant human rights violations against Shia Muslims across multiple countries. From January 1 to February 1, 2025, the report highlights alarming trends of terrorist attacks, arbitrary arrests, and sectarian violence in Pakistan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
In Pakistan, residents of Upper Kurram have endured a worsening crisis due to extremist group blockades, resulting in over 200 deaths from food and medical shortages. Aid convoys have also faced repeated attacks, including burning of relief trucks and killings of aid workers. Additionally, a mosque bombing in Kulachi and the arrest of Shia activist Muzammil Hussain Faseeh were reported.
Bahrain continues to restrict Shia religious practices, with Friday prayers at Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in Diraz banned for 17 weeks. Discrimination in the job market persists, with local job seekers struggling as foreign workers fill over 600,000 positions. Arbitrary arrests have also targeted Shia activists, including Abdullah Youssef Al-Muadhin and Hassan Jaafar Masoud.
In Lebanon, violence escalated as Sheikh Mohammed Hammadi was assassinated, and an Israeli attack on southern Lebanon killed 22 civilians and injured over 120 others.
Meanwhile, Syria has seen brutal violence, including mass arrests and executions of Shia youth, particularly in Homs, Hama, and Aleppo. Sectarian attacks also targeted Shia shrines, including the desecration of Al-Muhsin ibn Al-Hussain’s shrine in Aleppo.
Saudi Arabia’s Shia community also faces continued repression. Reports of arbitrary arrests, restrictions on religious gatherings, and economic discrimination against Shia citizens persist. Security forces maintain a heavy presence, conducting raids and imposing movement restrictions in Shia-majority areas.
Shia Rights Watch calls for greater respect for the religious and political rights of Shia Muslims, urging governments to ensure justice and equality for all citizens.
