Shia Rights Watch Reports Violations Against Shia Muslims Across Several Countries in June 2026
Shia Rights Watch Reports Violations Against Shia Muslims Across Several Countries in June 2026
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Shia Rights Watch has issued its monthly report documenting human rights violations against Shia Muslims from June 1 to July 1, 2026, highlighting incidents involving state authorities, armed groups, and extremist elements across several countries.
In Afghanistan, the report recorded multiple incidents involving Taliban authorities, including the killing of two protesters in Herat, arrests linked to documenting the shooting, interference with Ashura ceremonies in Kabul, Ghazni, and Herat, and the removal of black mourning flags and religious banners. The report also cited the detention of Tamadon TV’s director and an employee, the raid and suspension of the station’s Kabul office, arrests of worshippers over Ashura flags, the detention of Shia community leaders, the closure of Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary, and the arrest of a female journalist and colleagues covering Ashura ceremonies.
In Pakistan, the report documented the arrest of Husseini reciter Zulfi Azadar in Baltistan, the abduction and killing of Abbas Hussain Bakhsh in Dera Ismail Khan by members of Sipah-e-Sahaba, and the assassination of Afghan Shia businessman Mohammad Hashim Noorzai in Quetta.
Bahrain accounted for the largest number of reported incidents. The report cited widespread arrests, summonses, home raids, prison sentences, restrictions on Muharram and Ashura observances, interrogations of pilgrims returning from Iraq, and the detention of religious figures, minors, Husseini reciters, mosque caretakers, and heads of matams and Ashura committees. Several detainees were reportedly taken to undisclosed locations.
In Kuwait, authorities reportedly ordered the closure of Ale-Yaseen Hussainiya and suspended all Ashura-related activities there until further notice.
In Egypt, the report said security forces arrested Shia activist Haider Qandil and transferred him to an undisclosed location. It also reported the closure of Imam Hussein Mosque in Cairo at the beginning of Muharram.
In Syria, Shia Rights Watch documented a wide range of attacks and violations, including killings in Hama, Homs, Latakia, and Damascus countryside, arbitrary arrests, attacks on university students, the reported death of a detainee under torture, abductions of women, the demolition of a mosque and Hussainiya, the burning and desecration of Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba Mosque, the burning of a religious shrine, and the demolition of more than 1,000 homes in Al-Mazra’a village in rural Homs, which reportedly caused widespread displacement.
In Saudi Arabia, the report said security forces arrested an Iraqi pilgrim from Basra after he posted a photograph of the demolished graves of the Imams of al-Baqi on social media. It also reported restrictions on Ashura observances in Qatif and Al-Ahsa, including limits on public processions, livestreaming, traffic organization outside Hussainiyas, religious programs, and participation by some Husseini reciters.
In Iraq, the report documented an attack in Abu Ghraib, where people celebrating Eid al-Ghadir at a resort reportedly came under gunfire from extremist elements, and one participant’s vehicle was set on fire.
