persecution vs maltreatment

persecution and maltreatment both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
persecution	Yes	No	No	No
maltreatment	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, maltreatment is a hypernym of persecution; that is, maltreatment is a word with a broader meaning than persecution:

persecution: the act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion)
maltreatment: cruel or inhumane treatment

Other hypernyms of persecution include abuse, ill-treatment, ill-usage.

persecution (noun)	maltreatment (noun)
the act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion)	cruel or inhumane treatment