An Iranian pastor who has lived in Armenia since 2019 has appealed to the United Nations for help after his passport was revoked.

Masoud Taheri fled Iran after being arrested for his house-church activities and has not returned since.

During his time in Armenia, the Christian convert has set up a business in Yerevan, but as he prepared for a recent business trip to Spain, he discovered that his passport had been revoked.

Masoud told Article18 he believes his passport was taken away because of his “political activities, Christian faith, and public criticism of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

He has written both to the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mai Sato, asking them to intervene.

In the letters, copies of which Article18 has seen, Masoud describes the revocation of his citizenship as an “unprecedented and unlawful act [that] has placed me in an extremely precarious situation, effectively leaving me stateless, legally disenfranchised, and entirely stripped of the protection of any nationality”.

He adds: “Because the Iranian government has completely revoked and invalidated all of my official identity documents, my commercial and business operations in Armenia have come to a complete standstill. 

“Furthermore, my bank accounts here in Armenia have been effectively disabled due to my lack of valid legal status and documents. As a direct result, the business and commercial enterprise that I spent years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice to build has been utterly ruined. I am now facing immediate financial collapse alongside my legal limbo.

“In addition to these political and economic reprisals, my deeply held religious beliefs as a Christian convert, and my public engagement continue to exacerbate my fears regarding my safety. I am in constant fear of persecution, unlawful detentions, or potential transnational threats should I be unlawfully forced or coerced to return to Iran. Consequently, I am effectively stranded in Armenia with no valid travel documents, depleted legal options, and an overwhelmingly bleak outlook for my future.”

Masoud says his ultimate objective, “given the urgency and gravity of my circumstances”, is to secure a humanitarian visa to find refuge in a safe third country.