Woman convert, 62, sentenced to year in prison 29 July 2019 News (Middle East Concern) A 62-year-old woman convert to Christianity has been sentenced to one year in prison for “propaganda against the system”, reports Middle East Concern. Rokhsareh (Mahrokh) Ghanbari was notified of her sentence today, two days after her appearance at a Revolutionary Court in Karaj. Middle East Concern reported that the judge was “very rude” and “tried to humiliate Mahrokh after she disagreed with him”. Mahrokh was one of five female converts arrested just before Christmas during a raid on her home in Karaj. The names of the other four women have not yet been made public. The officers confiscated several of Mahrokh’s belongings, including her mobile phone, Bibles and other Christian materials. Mahrokh was then detained and interrogated from morning until evening for ten days, before being released on bail of 30 million tomans (around $2,500). Middle East Concern said her treatment caused “distress to family and friends, who thought she would have been shown greater respect on account of her age”. In January, Mahrokh was forced to visit an Islamic cleric to receive religious “instruction” and be offered the chance to reconvert to Islam.
‘Judge of Death’ increases converts’ bail tenfold after they insist on choosing lawyer 26 July 2019 News Mohammad Moghiseh has earned the nickname the ‘Judge of Death’ for his harsh treatment of prisoners of conscience. (Photo: Fars/Ali Khara) Five of the nine converts arrested earlier this year in Rasht had their bail increased tenfold at a court hearing in Tehran on Wednesday, after insisting upon being defended by their own lawyer. The five men – Abdolreza (Matthias) Ali-Haghnejad, Shahrooz Eslamdoust, Behnam Akhlaghi, Babak Hosseinzadeh and Mehdi Khatibi – wanted Moshgani Farahani to defend them, but Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, who has earned the nickname the “Judge of Death” for his harsh treatment of prisoners of conscience, rejected their choice and demanded they were defended by a lawyer of the court’s choosing. When they refused, Judge Moghiseh increased their bail amount to the equivalent of $130,000 each, and, being unable and unprepared to pay such an amount, they were transferred to Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. The other four – Khalil Dehghanpour, Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Naamanian and Mohammad Vafadar – decided to defend themselves and were therefore released on their pre-existing bail (the equivalent of $13,000 each) until their next hearing on Sunday. The nine were arrested during raids on their homes and house-churches in January and February. Seven of them – all except Abdolreza and Shahrooz – were released on bail in March, after posting the equivalent of $13,000 each. Abdolreza and Shahrooz were detained. All nine were charged with “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. The nine are members of the non-Trinitarian “Church of Iran”, the denomination of the imprisoned pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and his three church members, Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie, Mohammad Ali Mossayebzadeh, and Mohammad Reza Omidi, who are all serving ten-year prison sentences. Yesterday, the vice-chair of the United States International Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Nadine Maenza, called for Pastor Yousef’s immediate release, saying: “The Iranian government has vilified and deprived the basic rights of Pastor Nadarkhani and of many other Iranians simply for exercising their freedom of belief. This must stop. I call on the government of Iran to live up to its commitments to its citizens under international law.” It was a year ago this week that plainclothes security forces violently arrested Pastor Yousef and his fellow church members – Pastor Yousef and his son were both tasered – before taking them away to serve sentences also on charges of “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”.
Convert refused asylum in Germany arrested on return to Tehran 24 July 2019 News (Bild) An Iranian convert to Christianity refused asylum in Germany and deported back to Iran was arrested “immediately” upon her arrival in Tehran, according to German newspaper Bild. Fatemeh Azad, 58, was then reportedly released on bail and is now awaiting trial. Fatemeh’s asylum claim was rejected in early May, even though her lawyers had protested that she could face the death penalty if she returned to Iran. Technically, Iranian law allows for converts to Christianity to be sentenced to death for apostasy, but there have not been many recent examples of this. It is, however, very common for converts to be charged with “actions against national security” and handed prison sentences of between one and 15 years. Bild reports that Fatemeh converted to Christianity in 2015, against the will of her husband, along with her three sons, Payam, Peyman and Pouriya, and that all four fled to Germany in the November of that year. Two of her children have since been granted asylum, according to Bild, but the third has also been threatened with deportation. Amnesty International has asked the German government to review its policy on Iranian converts seeking asylum, in light of the threats facing those who return home. Fatemeh’s lawyer, Christopher Lingau, told Bild that her application was denied “on the grounds that in her interview she was unable to substantiate her commitment to the Christian faith”. But her pastor in Germany, Frank Sattler, said she “regularly attended church services” and that her verbal expression of faith and baptism were sufficient proof of the sincerity of her faith. In an interview with German news site domradio.de, politician Volker Kauder, a member of the governing CDU, said he was “worried that Christians are being sent back to countries where they are persecuted” and added that Germany is not allowed to deport asylum seekers to countries where they could face the death penalty, whether or not their asylum claim is genuine.
Church ban ‘worse than prison’ for woman convert who lost appeal 23 July 2019 News Two months after two converts were told they had lost their appeals against jail sentences for “spreading propaganda against the regime”, it has emerged that one of them has also been banned from all social activities for two years after her release. Fatemeh Bakhtari, who is known as Aylar, will be unable to attend any group meeting of more than two people, effectively cutting her off from gathering with her co-religionists. A local contact of Article18 said this prospect was harder for Aylar than her one-year jail sentence. Aylar was first summoned for interrogation three years ago and threatened that she would be re-arrested if she continued to meet with other converts. But Aylar carried on attending house-church meetings as she “didn’t see anything illegal in gathering with others to worship”. When she was next arrested, Aylar was ridiculed for her faith and threatened. Then during her appearance before the court, the presiding judges, Hassan Babaee and Mashallah Ahmadzadeh, spent more time encouraging her to return to Islam than discussing her alleged crime. She was asked to recant her faith and told that if she did, the charges against her would be dropped. When she refused, the judges told her to expect their verdict in a few days. Four months later, on 18 May, she and her co-defendant, Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie, were notified that their sentences had been upheld. Since then, Aylar has been living with the knowledge that she may be summoned to begin her sentence at any moment. In some instances, this process drags on for years and until that summons, Aylar will live with the prospect of prison hanging over her like a cloud. Zaman is already serving a separate ten-year sentence, issued in July 2017, for forming a “house church” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. He was taken to serve that sentence in Evin Prison in July 2018, alongside his pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, and two other members of their Rasht church – Mohammad Ali Mossabayeh and Mohammad Reza Omidi, who are also converts. Nine other members of the Rasht “Church of Iran” group have been arrested this year. In March, seven of them were released on bail, but two were held.
‘Now I know even innocents can be jailed’ – Sevada Aghasar after his conditional release 22 July 2019 News Iranian-Armenian Christian Sevada Aghasar has been granted “conditional release” from prison after serving half of his five-year sentence for “acting against national security through house-church activities”. Sevada was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison yesterday lunchtime and will not have to return providing he upholds the conditions of his release, which will likely mean a prohibition from evangelism. Today, on his Instagram page, Sevada wrote: When I was child, I thought that only criminals and malefactors would be prisoned. Then I got younger and knew that debtors and mistakers would be prisoned too.Now I know that even innocents could be prisoned!! Thank God, I’m free now. The 30-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison in April 2015 at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj, a city near Tehran. After failing with his appeal, he began serving his sentence on 4 July 2017. He had also spent six months in detention following his initial arrest, which counted towards his time served. Sevada was first arrested in August 2013 alongside two Christian friends, Ebrahim Firouzi, with whom he was later sentenced, and Masoud Mirzaei, who was also arrested but later released. Ebrahim, a convert to Christianity, remains in Karaj’s Rajaei Shahr Prison. Late last year his mother, who had been battling ill health for some years, passed away without the opportunity to see her son one last time. In July 2016, Kobra Kamrani, who was 56 when she died, had pleaded with the authorities to release her son to help take care of her, as she had lost her eyesight and also had cancer. But her request was rejected and in December 2018 she died and was buried without her son being able to see her or attend her funeral. Sevada was granted temporary release from prison twice during his time in prison, the second of which came at Easter 2019, when he sang with his church choir on Easter Sunday, as was his custom before his imprisonment, and also celebrated his 30th birthday while on leave. He was also granted one week’s leave in May 2018.
Bushehr Christians bailed but could face long jail sentences 18 July 2019 News Left to right: Pooriya Peyma, Fatemeh Talebi, Maryam Falahi, Sam Khosravi, Khatoon Fatolahzadeh, Sasan Khosravi, Marjan Falahi, and Habib Heydari. Eight converts to Christianity arrested in the southwestern city of Bushehr earlier this month have been released on bail but could face lengthy jail sentences. The Christians – including five members of one family – have been charged with “actions against national security”, “gathering and collusion against the state”, and “membership of an illegal organisation” (house church), the maximum sentences for which would be 15 years in prison. They were released on 16 and 17 July after each posting bail of 300 million tomans (around $30,000). The arrests took place at around 9am on Monday 1 July, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The agents also searched the work offices of at least two Christians and confiscated computer hard drives and security-camera recordings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The eight Christians are Sam Khosravi, 36, and his wife Maryam Falahi, 35; Sam’s brother Sasan, 35, and his wife Marjan Falahi, 33; Sam and Sasan’s mother, Khatoon Fatolahzadeh, 61; Pooriya Peyma, 27, and his wife Fatemeh Talebi, 27; and Habib Heydari, 38. Khatoon Fatolahzadeh was released on the day of her arrest, due to her age. Her arrest came after six cars carrying security officials turned up outside her home. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. Some associates of the Christians were later summoned for interrogation, then released. It is not yet known whether they also face charges.
Woman convert, 62, due in court next week 18 July 2019 News (Middle East Concern) A 62-year-old woman convert to Christianity arrested shortly before Christmas is due to appear in court next week, reports Middle East Concern. Rokhsareh (Mahrokh) Ghanbari has been summoned to appear at the Revolutionary Court in Karaj next Saturday, 27 July, where she will face charges of “propaganda against the system”. In January, Mahrokh was forced to visit an Islamic cleric to receive religious “instruction” and be offered the chance to revert to Islam. Mahrokh was one of five female converts arrested just before Christmas during a raid on her home in Karaj. The names of the other four women have not yet been made public. The officers confiscated several of Mahrokh’s belongings, including her mobile phone, Bibles and other Christian materials. Mahrokh was then detained and interrogated from morning until evening for ten days, before being released on bail of 30 million tomans (around $2,500). Middle East Concern said her treatment caused “distress to family and friends, who thought she would have been shown greater respect on account of her age”.
‘Terrorists, Zionists, spies: this is how Christians are referred to in Iran’ – Dabrina Bet-Tamraz 18 July 2019 News Dabrina Bet-Tamraz (right) spoke yesterday at the second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, DC. (Photo: Twitter @DemandForAction) The daughter of an Iranian couple facing long prison sentences for their Christian activities has spoken out against Iran’s ‘mistreatment of religious minorities’. “Terrorists, Zionists, spies, a threat to national security: this is how Evangelical Christians are referred to in my native country, Iran,” said Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, at the second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, DC. “Many Christians have received lengthy prison sentences for false charges related to the practice of their faith, and their sentences have been upheld by the Court of Appeals. Most of these cases involved converts from Islam, but there are also several instances where members of recognised Armenian and Assyrian Christian minorities were imprisoned or sentenced to prison due to their religious activities. My parents, my only brother, and myself included.” As part of a panel discussion on religious-freedom challenges in the Middle East, Dabrina said her family had been “a target of continuous harassment from Iranian authorities for as long as I can remember”. She recalled the raid on her family home during a Christmas celebration in 2014, when “plain-clothed security officers … arrested all attendees. They separated men from women and conducted strip-searches, seizing all Bibles, confiscating personal items such as cellphones, laptops, and identification documents. All attendees were interrogated on camera and were forced to sign forms committing to never gather together again”. Her father, Victor, was then taken away, beaten, and had his head shaved “as a way to humiliate him”, Dabrina said. “They treated him as though he was a criminal—a terrorist,” she said. “He was kept in solitary confinement for 65 days; at times without any human interaction for over ten days.” Pastor Victor was later charged with “conducting evangelism” and “illegal house-church activities”, and other charges amounting to “acting against national security”, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Dabrina’s mother, Shamiram Issavi, was later interrogated and charged with “membership of a group with the purpose of disrupting national security” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security”, and sentenced to five years in prison. Both are appealing their sentences. Dabrina’s brother, Rameil, was then among a group of five Christians arrested during a picnic gathering in Tehran in August 2016. Rameil was later sentenced to four months in prison for “acting against national security” and “organising and establishing house churches”, then released owing to time already served. Dabrina highlighted the “unprecedented” wave of raids on house-church gatherings at the end of 2018, the arrest of 171 converts across the year – and at least 37 more so far in 2019. “These people are not religious leaders or pastors,” she noted. “They are not politicians or activists of some sort. They are simply believers attending prayer and worship gatherings and meetings. But to the Iranian authorities, any non-Islamic religious gathering is considered a threat to the regime.” Dabrina also noted how there are today less than a quarter of the number of Assyrian Christians living in Iran as before the revolution. She highlighted the recent forced closure of an Assyrian church in Tabriz, which only yesterday was claimed as only a false rumour by a pro-government Iranian news agency – something Article18’s advocacy director, Mansour Borji, called an attempt at “damage control” after the “despicable act” of forcibly closing the church and taking down the cross. “The Iranian Christian community, along with other religious minorities in the country, continue to be denied their right to freedom of religion or belief,” Dabrina said. “These human-rights violations threaten the safety of these communities.” She called for the “immediate and unconditional release of all Christians detained on spurious charges related to the practice of the their faith and religious activities”, and implored the US and wider international community to hold Iran “accountable for its mistreatment of religious minorities” and to ensure Iran’s obligation to uphold religious freedom is at the heart of all negotiations “with, or concerning, Iran”. US President Donald Trump later promised to look into the case of the Bet-Tamraz family. Speaking with Dabrina at the White House after the panel discussion, Mr Trump promised: “I’m going to get the information [about their cases]. I will.” Dabrina was part of a delegation of survivors of religious persecution who visited the president. She told him: “Mr President, I’m part of a Christian minority from Iran; my family [is] being persecuted in Iran… We would appreciate it if you would mention my family but also Christian persecution in Iran in negotiations with or about Iran.”
‘Tabriz church was never closed, cross fell down’ – pro-government agency 17 July 2019 News The cross on top of the Assyrian Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Tabriz was replaced last week, two months to the day since it was taken down. A pro-government news agency in Iran has claimed the Assyrian church in Tabriz was never forcibly closed, as Article18 reported, and that its cross fell down, rather than being torn down, and was replaced after being repaired. Yonathan Betkolia’s letter, dated 25 May. Fars News Agency interviewed two senior Armenian Orthodox church leaders from the East Azerbaijan Province where Tabriz is located, who said the news reports were only “false rumours” and “lies” and that Christians in Iran had always been well treated. The report further claimed that services at the church had never been halted. Just last week, Article18 reported that the cross had been put back on top of the church, two months to the day since it was removed. This came after an international outcry at the church’s forcible closure on 9 May at the hands of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence and EIKO, an organisation under the direct control of the Supreme Leader. Following the church’s closure, the Assyrian representative to the Iranian Parliament, Yonathan Betkolia, openly criticised the move in an open letter to the president, Hassan Rouhani, and called for the cross to be put back. Then last month a senior legal adviser to the president publicly questioned the legality of the church’s closure. A screenshot of the statement by Rouhani’s legal adviser, questioning the legality of the closure. Article18’s Advocacy Director, Mansour Borji, pointed to these statements – by senior figures within both the Iranian parliament and government – as evidence that the church had indeed been closed, as was reported. He also asked: “Why has Fars not spoken with Assyrian church leaders and Synod members who are forced to exile, and instead has interviewed members of the Armenian Orthodox Church, who have little or nothing to do with the ownership of the building?” Borji said Fars’ report was an effort at “damage control” after the “despicable act” of forcibly closing the church and taking down the cross. The report by Fars claims that the “rumours” of the church’s closure were part of an elaborate plan by “enemies” of Iran to take advantage of the difficult political, economic and military environment in which Iran finds itself. It specifically criticised “Zionist evangelical media”, with one of the interviewees calling the evangelical movement a “danger not only to the Christian community but also to the entire human race”. The Assyrian Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Tabriz was first issued with a confiscation order back in 2011, a copy of which Article18 will soon publish as part of a report detailing similar illegal confiscations of Christian properties and the closure of churches by Iranian authorities. Meanwhile, the photograph below shows an EIKO document, dated May 2012, claiming ownership of the building. Highlighted are the EIKO letterhead (top right) and its claim of ownership (underlined).
Iran Ministry of Intelligence and EIKO closes Assyrian Presbyterian church 17 July 2019 Case Studies This case study was used as part of a UK government-funded report into the persecution of Christians worldwide. Case referenced by Article18, Assyrian International News Agency, Iranwire, Radio Farda, World Watch Monitor, Voice of the Martyrs Canada. Case Summary On 9 May 2019, the Ministry of Intelligence, together with the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), forcibly closed down the Assyrian Presbyterian church of Tabriz, in the northwest of Iran. The intelligence agents changed all the locks, destroyed the cross from the church tower, and ordered the church warden to leave the premises immediately, while they installed CCTV and other monitoring systems in and around the premises. Case in full On 9 May 2019, “a large number” of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) and EIKO raided and forcibly shut down the Assyrian Presbyterian church of Tabriz, in the northwest of Iran. The intelligence agents changed all the locks, destroyed the cross from the church tower, and ordered the church warden to leave the premises immediately while they installed CCTV and other monitoring systems in and around the premises. The MOIS raid was not unexpected. Prior to the incident, during Christmas 2018, Armenian and Assyrian church leaders from other churches in the country were prevented from visiting the church and conducting a joint worship service. According to Article18’s inside-country source, the church members anticipated such an incident and had been fearful since Christmas 2018. Furthermore, in 2011, the church was raided and “confiscated” by the order of the Revolutionary Court, under Judge Hassan Babaei. Nevertheless, the church members were able to continue using the building to conduct their services in the Assyrian language until 9 May 2019. The church had been banned from using the Persian language for their worship services for more than 30 years. Legal background and case analysis The church belongs to the Assyrian Presbytery and has been listed and officially recognised as a National Heritage site with 100 years of history. The church was confiscated by the order of the Revolutionary Court under Judge Hassan Babaei in 2011; however, the church members were able to continue using the building to hold their services until 9 May 2019 and the intervention of EIKO and MOIS agents, who were responsible for the raid and the closing down of the church. Both institutions are under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Neither of them has provided the church with any clear explanation or reason for the raid and the closing down of the church. On 25 May, the Assyrian representative to the Parliament, Yonathan Betkolia, wrote an open letter to President Rouhani urging him to re-open the church and reinstall the cross on the church tower. At the time of writing, there had been no response to the letter from the authorities, but on 9 July a pro-government news agency in Iran claimed the Assyrian church in Tabriz was never in fact forcibly closed, and that its cross fell down, rather than being torn down, and was replaced after being repaired. The majority of churches owned by Protestant denominations have been closed down in recent years or banned from using the Persian language for their worship services, as was also the case for the Presbyterian church of Tabriz. Furthermore, in most cases where churches have been closed, the government has not been able to legally repurpose them, especially if the building is listed. As Mansour Borji, Advocacy Director of Article18, stated: “Churches typically remain as empty buildings, until they turn into ruins, before being bulldozed, such as was the case with the Episcopal church in Kerman”. In some cases, after the confiscation of the church, the government may allow the church to look after the listed building, but ban them from holding any church services, except occasional prayers under strict control of the authorities – for example, in the case of the Episcopal church of Shiraz. Iran’s constitution provides for and protects religious freedom for Christians (ethnic Assyrians and Armenians), Zoroastrians and Jews. Armenian and Assyrian Christians have been relatively free to practise their faith. However, Protestant churches that attracted Muslims or that accepted Muslim-background Christians or held services in the Persian language have been forced to close or stop their services in Persian and reject their Muslim-background members. If a church or church leader did not follow their orders, they could face severe punishment. One such example is the case of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, an Assyrian pastor, who refused to stop his Persian-speaking services in his church in Shahr-Ara, Tehran. The Ministry of Intelligence temporarily closed his church. After MOIS warnings, the church leadership dismissed Pastor Bet-Tamraz and stopped the Persian-language services. MOIS then reopened the church. However, the story did not end there. On 26 December 2016 plain-clothed security officers raided Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz’s house and arrested him. Later, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, charged with “actions against national security”. After losing his appeal, he and his wife fled the country in August 2020. USCIRF in its 2019 Annual Report stated that religious freedom conditions in Iran are moving in a “negative direction”; the government “systematically” targets Christians; they repeatedly raid churches and house-churches, harass, detain and imprison Christians; Muslim converts to Christianity continue to face “severe persecution”; many have been sentenced to prison for holding private Bible-study gatherings in their homes. In 2018, at least 171 Christians were arrested, as Article18 noted in its annual report, including 114 in just one week in early December. Views of local Christians The members of the church of Tabriz were left in a state of shock, though they had foreseen such a situation since Christmas 2018 when the state did not allow pastors from other churches to visit their church. The locals also reported that the intelligence agents made it clear that Assyrian Protestant Christians were no longer allowed to practise their faith in the building. The local Christians believe that the closing down of the church was part of the government’s agenda to close down all Protestant churches in the country. Diplomatic involvement There was not much diplomatic involvement in this case, however USCIRF in a tweet on 24 May said: “USCIRF is deeply concerned by reports that an Assyrian Presbyterian church in Iran was forcibly closed earlier this month.”