Shi’a Rights Watch: Monthly Report Details Human Rights Violations Targeting Shiites in July 2025
A new monthly human rights report from Shi’a Rights Watch, covering July 1 to August 1, 2025, documents a range of violations against Shia Muslims across several countries. The report is based on information from both private and public sources, including human rights activists and groups.
According to the report, in Afghanistan, Taliban authorities in Ghazni province suppressed Ashura rituals. They reportedly banned mourning processions, destroyed sound systems in mosques, and seized Husseiniyahs (Shia congregation halls) to convert them into military bases.
In Pakistan, the Ministry of Interior banned all land travel for pilgrims heading to Karbala, permitting only air travel.
The report also details several incidents in Bahrain, including the arrest of a religious preacher and a broader arrest campaign. It highlights the continued ban on Shia citizens from performing Friday prayers in the town of Duraz for consecutive weeks and the arrest of a protestor demanding to be reinstated to his job.
In Iran, an attack on a courthouse in Zahedan resulted in 9 deaths and 22 injuries.
Additional documented cases include multiple Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanese towns, causing casualties, and various violations in Syria, such as sectarian-motivated shootings, abductions, and arsons aimed at displacing Alawites. The report also mentions an attack on a religious gathering near the shrine of Lady Zaynab, as well as assassinations and raids on villages, and the sectarian-based removal of judges.
Finally, in Saudi Arabia, the report documented the arrests of women, youth, and clerics from Qatif and Awamiyah, and the execution by beheading of three political prisoners.
