Shia Rights Watch has released its February 2025 report, documenting the most significant human rights violations committed against Shia individuals and communities worldwide.
SRW emphasizes that its teams could only verify some of the reported violations through collaboration with human rights activists and civil society organizations. However, numerous field indicators suggest the occurrence of many other violations that could not be confirmed due to lack of witnesses or sufficient evidence.
Here is SRW’s monthly human rights report on violations committed against Shia Muslims from February 1 to March 1, 2025.
The report highlights numerous terrorist attacks carried out by extremist groups targeting Shia individuals, as well as state-sponsored oppression and abuse against Shia communities in several countries.
Note: Shia Rights Watch has compiled this report based on independent sources, human rights activists, and civil society organizations. The organization refrains from reporting cases without strong evidence, despite its firm belief in the occurrence of such violations. Shia Rights Watch reiterates its non-political and non-profit stance, advocating solely for justice and equality for all.
Afghanistan
2/1/2025: Dozens of Shia Muslims in Badakhshan province were forcibly converted to Sunni Islam by Taliban authorities, who accused them of heresy. The coercion extended to men, women, and children.
2/11/2025: At least 18 people were killed and 45 injured in a terrorist bombing outside a bank in Kunduz, where employees were gathering to receive their salaries.
Pakistan
2/1/2025: Over half a million Shia Muslims remain under siege by extremist groups, while authorities fail to secure aid convoys, which have been repeatedly attacked.
2/1/2025: Armed extremists launched rockets targeting Shia communities in the Lower Kurram region.
2/1/2025: Educational institutions in Parachinar were forced to shut down due to fuel and supply shortages caused by the ongoing extremist siege.
2/14/2025: A bomb explosion in Quetta killed nine people and injured several others.
2/15/2025: Activist Syed Tanveer Hussain was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Dera Ismail Khan.
2/17/2025: A humanitarian convoy heading to Parachinar was attacked by armed extremists, resulting in the death of several truck drivers and significant damage to the convoy.
2/18/2025: A suicide attack on a police vehicle in Quetta killed nine peopleand injured others.
2/19/2025: A terrorist group ambushed a passenger bus on a highway near Quetta, executing two Shia passengers.
Bahrain
2/15/2025: The Bahraini government revoked the citizenship of 700 naturalized Pakistanis and deported them due to their Shia faith.
2/18/2025: Bahraini authorities blocked Shia worshippers from attending Friday prayers for four consecutive weeks, restricting access to mosques in Druze.
Lebanon
2/5/2025: The Israeli military destroyed dozens of houses belonging to Shia farmers in Rabb al-Thalathin and Yaroun.
2/16/2025: Israeli fighter jets bombed the town of Jarjouaa, killing and injuring several Shia civilians.
2/1/2025: Armed groups stirred chaos and panic inside the mosque and shrine of Sayyida Zainab (peace be upon her) and prevented worshippers from performing prayers.
2/1/2025: Citizens complained of forced displacement, home looting, theft, property destruction, and threats by armed groups in the villages of Talisiya, Zagheba, Ma’an, Marioud, Al-Mabtane, Abu Mansef, Al-Touba Al-Sheiha, Al-Fan Al-Wastani, and Al-Fan Al-Qibli due to their adherence to the Shia sect.
2/1/2025: The residents of Al-Sharqiya village in rural Homs received the bodies of Louay Ali Al-Jabr and Gaith Youssef Badour after they were arrested by armed groups. Their bodies bore signs of torture.
2/1/2025: The family of young man Hikmat Younis found his body in a hospital in Homs after he was arrested by armed groups from Al-Kanisa village following a raid carried out by these groups days earlier.
2/1/2025: A terrorist armed group calling itself “Ansar Al-Sunna” announced its intent to target all Shias in Syria.
2/1/2025: Security forces arrested two residents of the Sayyida Zainab (peace be upon her) area, Hajj Ahmed Hajj Ali and his brother Adnan Hajj Ali, and took them to an unknown location.
2/2/2025: The family of young man Thaer Hamdoush found his body in a Homs hospital days after his arrest during a raid conducted by armed groups in the village.
2/2/2025: The body of detainee Mohammed Younis Mansour was found days after he was arrested by armed groups conducting raids in the village.
2/2/2025: The bodies of 15 young men from Arza village were found after they were arrested and executed by Takfiri groups before their bodies were dumped on the banks of the Orontes River.
2/3/2025: Terrorist groups burned and destroyed the shrine of Sheikh in the village of Tal Abdul Aziz in rural Hama.
2/3/2025: In Homs’ Al-Waleed suburb, extremist groups forcibly displaced several Shia residents, barring them from taking their belongings, in a sectarian-driven expulsion.
2/4/2025: The body of Fayed Issa Wehbe was found with signs of torture days after his arrest in the Qudsaya area of rural Damascus.
2/5/2025: The body of young man Alaa Al-Ali from Dbeen village in rural Homs was found dumped in one of the streets of Al-Qusayr area.
2/6/2025: An armed group randomly opened fire at passersby in a street in Latakia while chanting sectarian insults, killing young men Hassan Kousa and Fadi Shamlass instantly.
2/7/2025: Armed groups attacked and stormed the town of Hawik on the Lebanese border, forcing Shia residents to leave, causing a mass exodus into Lebanese territory.
2/7/2025: Individuals claiming affiliation with the authorities imposed the teaching of books by Ibn Taymiyyah in educational institutions, books that label Druze, Alawites, Shias, and Sufis as infidels.
2/8/2025: A Takfiri group beheaded retired teacher Hussein Ibrahim Al-Mohammed, who was in his seventies, in front of his home in Al-Tuwaim village in rural Hama. The village has been subjected to looting, theft, and property seizures after most of its residents were displaced for sectarian reasons.
2/8/2025: The residents of Sahl Al-Musharifa village found the bodies of Ahmad Jamoul, his wife Reem Suleiman, and their son Fater slaughtered and dumped on the roadside days after they were reported missing.
2/9/2025: Armed groups raided the village of Al-Zaina in rural Masyaf and arrested several young men for sectarian reasons. Among those known to be arrested are Younis Khaddour, Aws Younis Khaddour, Akram Salloum, Laith Salloum, Karam Salloum, Ali Khaddour, and Amin Khaddour.
2/10/2025: The bodies of young men who mysteriously disappeared days ago were found dumped by the roadside in several areas. Among the identified victims are brothers Murtada and Ali Mesto, Hussein Zyoud, and brothers Mohammed and Amjad Shdoud.
2/12/2025: A document issued by a terrorist court ordered the execution of two young men, Rami Abdulrahman Haidar Khamis and Ali Hafiz Mohammed Ibrahim, by flogging them to death due to their Shia identity.
2/12/2025: An armed group shot and killed citizen Shawkat Ahmad and his wife Najah Suleiman from the town of Basira Al-Jard.
2/12/2025: The body of young man Ali Saleh Salman was found in Al-Waleed Hospital in Homs with a gunshot wound to the head.
2/13/2025: An armed group shot and killed young man Tamam Shhoud from Mhardeh village in rural Hama.
2/14/2025: An armed group shot and killed young man Abdullah Al-Qasim from Shlouh village in rural Hama.
2/14/2025: An armed group shot and killed Sayyed Issa Sharba, a 60-year-old resident of Tasnin village in rural Homs.
2/14/2025: The body of 65-year-old Abdullah Hussein Abu Hassan was found in Al-Salamiya Hospital days after he was arrested from his home in Um Al-Amad village.
2/15/2025: The mutilated body of sanitation worker Imad Metwaj from Baksaa village in rural Latakia was found days after he was kidnapped.
2/16/2025: A Takfiri armed group attacked a café in Latakia, killing young man Ali Jamal Laili.
2/16/2025: A terrorist armed group using silenced weapons shot and killed Sayyed Ali Morab in Jableh, Latakia.
2/16/2025: An armed group arrested five young men from Sheikh Saeed in Aleppo and executed four of them, injuring the fifth.
2/16/2025: An armed group executed young man Ghadeer Dardar while he was working on his farm in Al-Hadiya village in rural Homs.
2/16/2025: An armed group stormed the home of citizen Anwar Al-Hassan, shot and killed him, and injured his son in Tasnin village in rural Homs.
2/17/2025: Armed groups kidnapped student Fatima Wael Hamza from Al-Zahraa town while she was on her way to school.
2/18/2025: The body of citizen Ali Deeb Naqi was found in Homs Hospital, bearing signs of torture.
2/18/2025: An armed group opened fire on residential homes in Jisr Harisoun in the city of Baniyas, killing citizen Youssef Hassan Jalouk and injuring young man Youssef Fayad.
2/20/2025: Armed groups forcibly displaced Shia residents of Jib Al-Jandali neighborhood, looted their properties, and assaulted them with beatings and insults.
2/21/2025: An armed force arrested Sheikh Adham Al-Khatib in the Sayyida Zainab (peace be upon her) area after physically assaulting him and his son.
2/22/2025: Armed groups stormed the shrine of Sheikh Abbas Al-Nasir in rural Homs and forced displaced families taking refuge there to leave, despite their earlier forced displacement for sectarian reasons.
2/22/2025: Armed groups stormed Al-Mustafa Mosque in Babila town and forced Shia worshippers to leave with the intent to seize the mosque.
2/23/2025: A Takfiri group arrested brothers Manhal Al-Ahmad and Ramadan Al-Ahmad, then killed and burned their bodies in Bisin village, Hama.
2/23/2025:The body of young man Mousa Hassan Al-Shamali was found in a Homs hospital days after he was kidnapped by an armed group in Al-Mazraa neighborhood.
2/23/2025: Syrian endowment authorities issued a decision to seize Al-Mustafa Mosque from the Shia community and dismissed Sheikh Adham Al-Khatib from his duties in an arbitrary move directly targeting Shia Muslims.
2/25/2025: The bodies of father Zaher Hassan and his daughter Alaa were found slaughtered inside their home in Al-Burjiyat neighborhood, Homs.
2/25/2025: Terrorist groups shelled residents of Jibourin village using mortar rounds.
2/26/2025: Armed groups opened fire on a demonstration condemning human rights violations in Qardaha, killing three young men and injuring more than ten others.
2/26/2025: The body of Ahmed Youssef Mohammed from Qudsaya was found days after he was arrested by an armed group.
2/26/2025: Armed groups stormed Ain Shami village in rural Homs, killing citizen Bahaa Salman Khaddour before arresting several individuals, including:
- Yasser Mohammed Suleiman
- Abdel-Ghani Asaad
- Ali Ahmed Badour (age 74)
- Youshaa Ali
- Munjed Anqa
- Laith Anqa
- Ahmed Abbas
- Qusai Suleiman
- Hafez Saleha
- Yasser Saleha
- Khodr Saqr
- Ahmed Eid
- Ahmed Saqr
- Basel Wajih Ali
- Ahmed Wajih Ali
- Imad Ali
- Ahmed Ali Ibrahim
- Fadi Asaad
- Salman Mohammed Hassan (engineer)
- Professor Aziz Kasser Mahmoud
- Professor Aziz Anwar Al-Ali
- Badr Mohammed Ali
- Professor Samir Mohammed Ali
- Imad Mohammed Ali
- Taleb Ali
- Taleb Abu Al-Reesh
- Mohammed Zaidoun
- Malek Saqr
- Ahmed Khaddour
- Ali Khaddour
2/27/2025: Armed groups arrested over a hundred young men from rural Masyaf, forcing many to flee into the mountains.
2/27/2025: Armed groups stormed Ain Shams village in rural Masyaf, beheaded Ali Shahin Al-Suleiman, and ran over his body with vehicles, despite his recent release from detention.
2/27/2025: Armed groups conducted a wide-scale forced displacement campaign targeting Shia and Christian residents in Al-Assad Suburb.
2/27/2025: Armed groups launched a widespread arrest campaign in Qatana, rural Damascus, targeting over a hundred young men while subjecting them to sectarian insults and abuse.
2/27/2025: Armed groups opened fire on a group of young men in Kharab area in Baniyas, killing four:
- Kinan Al-Ali
- Tarek Al-Ali
- Habib Zaher
- Bashar Al-Fleih (a disabled person in a wheelchair)
Saudi Arabia
2/1/2025: The Saudi government is preparing to execute six Shia men, including Abdullah Al-Darazi, Jalal Al-Labbad, Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi Al-Munassif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris, Hassan Zaki Al-Faraj, and businessman Saud Al-Faraj.
2/1/2025: Ali Salman Al-Laif from Al-Awamiya, Qatif, was executed by Saudi authorities.
Iraq
2/10/2025: A bomb explosion killed a Shia security guard responsible for protecting Samarra.
2/11/2025: A war relic explosion in Al-Qurna, Basraseriously injured seven children.
