- New TV Censorship In Iran: No Women Eating Pizza
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/new-tv-censorship-iran-no-women-eating-pizza
Location: Iran
On September 27th, the head of Public Relations of the state-controlled media company, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), disclosed perplexing information through his personal Instagram. It is important to note that the IRIB controls all broadcast media, including television, radio, and cinematic releases within the country. His statement referred to a recent "audit" performed by the IRIB, which resulted in a new broadcast directive. This audit prohibits the depiction of men pouring tea for women in the workplace. Women are also not allowed to be shown on-screen eating pizza, sandwiches, drinking red beverages, or wearing leather gloves. To ensure compliance with these new directives, all TV programs must be reviewed by the IRIB before being broadcast.
- Report Reveals 330,000 Victims of Sexual Abuse By French Catholic Church
Location: France
On October 5th, a 2,500-page report released by an independent commission documented more than 330,000 cases of sexual abuse within the French Catholic Church dating back to the 1950s.The document counted 3,000 priests and clergy members as either committing the abuse or having active involvement in the organized coverup. Of the 330,000 victims, 216,000 were directly abused by priests and clerics. The rest were victims of abuse by church laypeople and by others who had influence within the Church for the past 70 years. The president of the investigative commission described the Church’s attitude in the 20th century as “a deep, cruel indifference toward victims.” This bombshell report has rocked France. French President Emmanuel Macron said that “There is a need for truth and compensation.” Meanwhile, Pope Francis stated during a routine audience at the Vatican, “There is, unfortunately, a considerable number. I would like to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma that they suffered.”
- Iranian Woman Burned to Death by Father for Having a Lover
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/iranian-woman-burned-death-father-having-lover
Location: Iran
On October 3rd, 22-year-old Fazeh Maleki passed away due to her injuries caused by third-degree burns that covered 85% of her body. A doctor who treated this patient, Dr. Iman Navvabi, shared a censored photo of Fazeh’s severe burns on his Instagram around October 4th, stating that her father had burned her for having a lover. According to a witness, Fazeh's father poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of the Kurdistan province in Iran, stated that an investigation was under way to determine if she had burned herself, or if someone else burned her. A group of local activists plan to protest against "honor killings," which claim more than 400 lives every year in Iran. On October 3rd, women's rights activists in the province capital of Sanandaj condemned the killing and demanded changes in discriminatory laws against women.
- Siberian Shaman Forced into Psychiatric Ward for Challenging Putin
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/siberian-shaman-forced-psychiatric-ward-challenging-putin
Location: Russia
In 2019, local shaman Aleksandr Gabyshev became famous for marching almost 3,000 kilometers from his hometown in Yakutsk towards Moscow. He intended to use his “shamanic powers to ‘purge’ Vladimir Putin from power.” The 52-year old, who belongs to the Yakut Turkic ethnic minority group, is known for practicing Shamanism. A third of the way along his journey to Moscow, police officers nabbed Gabyshev and charged him with making “public calls for extremism.” When Gabyshev announced in January 2021 that he would continue to “exorcise” Putin out of Moscow, the police broke into the house and arrested him. Putin had much more to worry about this time; Gabyshev planned to head out on horseback, with followers and reporters behind him. On September 23rd, the Yakutsk City Court rejected Gabyshev’s appeal of the previous ruling that indefinitely confined him to a psychiatric facility for a mandatory “intensive treatment.” The court concluded that Gabyshev lacks legal capacity due to insanity, despite the protest of his defense attorneys.
- New Study Reveals Surprising Psychological Predictor of Atheism
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/new-study-reveals-surprising-psychological-predictor-atheism
Location: United States
A recent study published in the academic journal Social Psychological and Personality Science revealed that the strongest predictor of adulthood atheism is the lack of credible displays of religious behavior and imagery of faith in one's childhood. The study sought to examine and compare three common theoretical approaches to understanding religion and disbelief; known as the Secularization, Cognitive Byproduct, and Dual Inheritance frameworks. The study found that the Dual Inheritance framework, which highlights the importance of cultural learning, was the most consistent in predicting atheism. This evidence contradicts many atheists' beliefs about how they left religion, mainly that their deconversion resulted from analytic and rational thinking. To quote the article, "...this work suggests that if you are guessing whether or not individuals are believers or atheists, you are better-off knowing how their parents behaved."
- Iranian Clinics Ordered to Report Pregnant Women to Prevent Abortion
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/iranian-clinics-ordered-report-pregnant-women-prevent-abortion
Location: Iran
A leaked letter from the Justice Ministry of the Mazandaran province in Iran called for the organized reporting of women who tested positive for pregnancy to fend off criminal abortions. Critics are theorizing that Iran is using this order to bolster the country's low population growth rate. ABC News reported that Mahdiar Saeedian, an Iranian medical journalist, leaked the Justice Ministry's letter through Twitter. According to Saeedian, one of the plans to prevent abortion is organizing and connecting laboratories and clinical centers to introduce mothers with positive pregnancy test results. In response to the backlash in social media, a local state-operated TV channel televised an interview with the crime prevention deputy. According to the interview, the plan described in the leaked letter was meant to prevent "unprofessional abortions."
- Russian Jehovah’s Witness Member Sentenced to Prison for "Extremism"
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/russian-jehovah-s-witness-member-sentenced-prison-extremism
Location: Russia
On October 11th, a district court in southern Russia sentenced a disabled 59-year old Jehovah's Witness, Vladimir Skachidub, to more than four years in prison for violating Russia's Criminal Code relating to "organizing the activity of an extremist community." RadioFreeEurope reported that Skachidub was conducting bible study sessions in his village. Skachidub's charges are just one in a series of religiously inspired arrests and charges carried out by the Russian government. A 2020 report from the International Institute for Religious Freedom's detailed the "misuse of the anti-extremism legislation" in Russia and listed three targeted religions; Muslims, Falun Gong, and Jehovah's Witnesses. In a statement from the Jehovah's Witness headquarters, Skachidub said he is being prosecuted solely for his peaceful religious activities.
- Vatican Diplomatic Immunity Upheld in European Court
Location: Vatican
On Tuesday, October 12th, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Vatican can not be sued in European courts because of its sovereign status as a nation. Beginning in 2011, 24 Belgian, French, and Dutch individuals filed a class-action lawsuit in Belgium, seeking to sue the Holy See, the Catholic Church's governing body. They fought for their case over the next several years, but the courts repeatedly ruled that they did not have jurisdiction over the Vatican. After appealing their way up the European court system, the ECHR dismissed the suit and upheld the Vatican's diplomatic immunity. However, the group still has the option to appeal within three months of this latest ruling.
- France Moves Forward in Criminalizing Gay Conversion Therapy
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/france-moves-forward-criminalizing-gay-conversion-therapy
Location: France
On October 5th, France's National Assembly voted unanimously in support of a proposed law that would ban so-called LGBT “conversion therapies.” The proposed rule will also punish practitioners and perpetrators with a jail sentence and a fine. The penalty for performing such practice can be up to two years in jail and fines up to 30,000 euros, with penalties increasing if the case involves a minor. France's lower house voted 115-0 to outlaw such therapies. The bill will now move on to the upper house of parliament for a debate. Some have argued that the law is unlikely to lead to a drastic reduction in conversion therapies, but they welcome the judicial instruments that would better equip victims to obtain reparations for the harm caused to them by this pseudo-scientific practice.
- HELP us fight Hindutva!
Those who have been following Atheist Republic for the last year are likely aware that our organization has been the target of many legal attacks by Hindu-nationalists ever since Atheist Republic’s founder - Armin Navabi - tweeted a blasphemous illustration of the Hindu Goddess Kali. Atheist Republic is not taking this judicial and virtual harassment lying down and has retained legal counsel to help us defend our access to our community in India. This fundraiser will help us afford to tackle many issues; assess legal complaints, monitor the case to be heard in the Supreme Court of India that involves our blasphemous content, our websites and social media platforms being blocked upon the order of the Indian government, and many more. Whatever you can contribute will go a long way in helping us maintain access to our largest community of atheists in Asia, as well as fight against the censorship of blasphemy!
Donate here: https://gofund.me/f081c6ea
