‘Many Iranians don’t even know recognised religious communities are repressed’ 8 February 2023 Analysis This interview was conducted by Dutch newspaper Reformatorisch Dagblad and translated by Christian Network Europe. It is re-published here with kind permission. “I faced oppression from a very early age”, says Dabrina Bet-Tamraz. The 37-year-old grew up in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where her father was a pastor in an Assyrian church. Now Dabrina lives in Switzerland, where she is a pastor and also helps political refugees from Iran. Recently, she was a guest speaker at the European Parliament launch of Open Doors’ World Watch List. What kind of oppression did you suffer when you still lived in Iran? “As a teenager, I noticed people in the country looked down on Christians. For instance, classmates did not want to sit next to me. Teachers sometimes called me a pig, an unclean animal. Once, when I drank from a cup, a teacher threw it away afterwards. She said the cup was now so dirty that washing it didn’t help. “Once, a teacher slapped me in my face because I was a Christian. I then shouted at him: ‘God bless you!’ I don’t know why I said that, but it helped. He stopped.” Your father was a pastor. Was he limited in his work? “The Assyrian church to which we belonged was recognised by the regime. That means we were allowed to hold church services. But that was it. My father was not allowed to preach in Persian, the official Iranian language. Evangelising, or admitting Muslim converts to the church community, was strictly forbidden. “Moreover, the intelligence services constantly watched my family. My parents were taken by security officers and interrogated several times. In the church, the authorities placed spies. “In the 1990s, many Iranian pastors were murdered. My father was also arrested many times during that period. Regularly he did not appear on the pulpit, and someone else had to fill in for him at the last minute.” Why were the authorities bothering you when the Assyrian church is recognised by the government? “Recognition does not mean you can do whatever you want. Recognised Christians are forced to act as puppets of the state. “Illustrative for me is how the only Assyrian MP condemned the recent protests in Iran. He said Christians who demonstrate are a poison and cancer to the faith. That man is just like a mouthpiece of the Iranian authorities. “My family did not obey the regime blindly. But those who act in this way risk imprisonment.” How do Iranians relate to Christians? “Iranians are naturally warm-hearted people. Although they initially have a certain fear of Christians, they become open as they get to know you better. I noticed that during my time at school. When I invited teachers to attend church services, my maths teacher accepted the offer. He is also a Christian now.” Is the repression mainly coming from the government? “In Iran, the regime poses the biggest threat to Christians. But repression takes place very much under the radar. As a result, many Iranians do not even know that the regime is repressing recognised communities. With propaganda, the regime has extreme power to brainwash. They paint the picture of supporting recognised communities. For example, at Christmas, state television broadcasts that the Ayatollah attends a church service. “The regime also pretends that it arrests believers because they pose a threat to national security, and not because of their Christian faith. The regime makes Iranians believe Christians are in the service of ‘Zionist’ organisations spying for Israel and America. This is believed. I was sometimes asked, ‘Dabrina, are you a Zionist Christian?’” You eventually fled Iran. Why did you do so? “In 2009, the authorities closed our church because my father preached in Persian and opened church services to Muslim converts. We then started organising services at home. “I was at university at the time and was arrested. They took me to a men’s prison and forced me to give them information about our pastors and church activities. I also had to agree to criminal charges against my father and other pastors. If I would not comply, they threatened me with imprisonment, rape or even execution. “That year, I also experienced two car ‘accidents’. And an officer warned me, ‘You won’t survive the next accident.’ “Eventually, the intelligence services made it impossible for me to still live safely in Iran. In 2010, I fled to Switzerland.” Did your parents remain in Iran? “When the authorities heard that my father was still preaching to Muslim converts at home, officers raided our house during a Christmas celebration in 2014 and arrested those present. They conducted a search and confiscated all the Bibles and personal belongings like mobile phones and passports. “My father was charged with ‘acting against national security by establishing house-churches’. They shaved him bald to humiliate him. After 65 days of solitary confinement, he was released on bail. “In 2020, my parents fled the country. Actually, they wanted to stay in Iran, but they faced a combined 15 years in prison. My brother still lives there.” How do you help Iranian Christians while living in Switzerland? “In church and society, I try to raise awareness about the situation of Iranian Christians. For instance, I have twice addressed the UN and once visited the White House to speak with then-President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence.” There have been protests in Iran for five months now. Can they improve the situation of Christians in Iran? “The protests do give me hope. There have been several demonstrations in Iran since 2009, but now they are on a larger scale and in almost every city in the country. Mass rallies are also taking place in Europe to draw attention to human rights in Iran. There were 80,000 people in Berlin in October and around 15,000 in Strasbourg in January. “But whether the protests improve the situation of Iranian Christians in the short term, that I doubt. We see that Iranian Christians and protesters are fighting for the same principles. Both want to be free, and both are now oppressed by the authorities. This creates a sense of community.” What is your wish for Iranian Christians? “I want freedom, justice and humane treatment for Iranian Christians. God’s heart longs for justice. The Bible even says He hates injustice. As a believer, I want to fight for that cause.”
‘We refugees already have enough difficulties. The earthquake has added to that’ 6 February 2023 News The 19th-century cathedral in Iskenderun is among the buildings to have collapsed. Iranian Christian refugees have been among those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Iranian Christians reported to Article18 that their church buildings have been destroyed and that they have been forced to stay outside in the cold and snow for long periods. “After the earthquake, we ran outside,” a single mother named Manijeh Adibanfar told Article18. “Around 7am we went back home. At 10am we experienced another aftershock, so we ran outside again and went to a park.” Manijeh explained, at 8pm local time, how she and her son, who has cancer, have been outside in the snow ever since. She added: “Please ask people who have a comfortable life to remember us and not forget us. We as refugees don’t have anyone except God and those who pray for us. We already had enough difficulties, and this earthquake has added to that.” Please see our most recent articles for more information on the challenges facing Iranian Christian refugees in Turkey, and the ways in which you can help.
1. Arrest 4 February 2023 Notes from Prison This is the first in a series of 12 articles by Mojtaba Hosseini, an Iranian convert to Christianity who spent more than three years in prison in the southern city of Shiraz for being part of a house-church. In this first Note from Prison, Mojtaba talks about his conversion, joining a house-church, and his first arrest. It was the winter of 2005 and I was 18 years old when God released me from many prisons – prisons that weren’t locked by any human being but from which I had felt there was no escape. He loosed the chains in me of guilt, anger, negativity, hatred, bitterness, emptiness, confusion, as well as some ugly habits. Above all, he took away my fear of death. Just at the right time, when life had lost all its meaning and I was absolutely hopeless; in the midst of all my personal problems and heavy burdens in my family, which I was unable to carry, he brought me new life, real joy and inner peace. This happened when I heard his good news. I realised that my main problem was being separated from my creator, and that all the mess in my life was a consequence of this fact. And this was truly good news to me, that Jesus Christ had bridged the gap, by sacrificing his life on the Cross, to restore my relationship with my great and kind creator. In the depths of my guilt and shame, I found a sweet and indescribable forgiveness that liberated my soul. His hope and strength filled my heart and soul, and I became like a new person. My soul was flying high like a bird in the air, as if nothing could take away its freedom and love for its saviour. But what I didn’t realise was that this bird was being hunted and that its life was in danger. From the first day of my conversion, I had a great desire in my heart to read the Bible. I was growing in my understanding of the Bible every day, and there were so many changes in my life. I soon realised that not only did I have the desire to meet with other believers, but I also had this new burden upon me to share my faith – and this new life – with others. After a little while I got to know a number of other Christians in my area, and it wasn’t long before we were meeting together regularly in our homes. We had such beautiful times together, worshipping the Lord with songs, sharing the Word of God, and encouraging each other with testimonies of what God had done in our lives. Our congregation was growing and we were becoming more serious about our faith every day, and God’s love was with us. The bell rings After almost a year of meeting regularly together, in May 2007, at around 8am, I was making breakfast when the bell rang. I was surprised that anyone would be calling that early, but I opened the door to find a group of around 10 plainclothes officers, equipped with handcuffs and guns. “According to the judge of Branch 3 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, we have the right to search your home,” said the commander of the group. I was really shocked and scared, but managed to muster up the courage to ask: “Can I see the court order?” In response, the officer slammed into my chest, pushing me backwards, and said: “You will see your sentence in time!” I quickly ran inside and called my father, who was at work. But an officer grabbed the phone from my hand, hit me in the face, and told me to sit down and stay still. My mother, sisters and brother were in their rooms. Some of them were still asleep, but the agents woke them up and forced all of us to gather in the hallway. We were all very shocked and frightened. We knew we had committed no crime, but we were being treated like dangerous criminals. We felt very insecure. Home is where you feel safe, so when your home can be so easily invaded, where else can you find security? The officers began to search the house, collecting anything they could find related to Christianity, as well as all our computers and other electronic devices. My mother and sisters were crying as we were interrogated about our beliefs and Christian activities. The atmosphere in the house was very heavy and tense, and there was chaos in my heart. I was praying for God’s protection and, at that moment, my father returned home. Blindfolded and taken away After completing their search and noting down all the items they were confiscating, they put handcuffs on me, my brother, father and one of my sisters – all who had given their hearts to Christ. Then they blindfolded me and pushed my head down all the way. I was extremely confused about what was happening. I kept thinking: “What crime have I committed that they are being so violent with me?” I was 20 years old by then, and in my entire life not one member of my family had ever had problems even with a neighbour, let alone the police. About half an hour later we arrived somewhere – though, as I was blindfolded, I didn’t know where – and they sat me down on a chair. I was left sitting there all day, and a thousand thoughts came into my head. I was constantly praying and had different emotions – at one moment worry and fear; then the next, courage and strength. I gave all these emotions to God, chose to trust in His love, and found refuge in Him. I may have been in prison, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the freedom I had in Christ. It was as if the sweetness of that freedom became even clearer as a result of the bitterness of my imprisonment.
Wife of imprisoned pastor charged with ‘disturbing public opinion’ 3 February 2023 News The wife of a pastor serving a six-year prison sentence for “propagating Christianity” now faces her own charges of “propaganda against the state” and “disturbing public opinion”. Anahita Khademi, who is married to Abdolreza (Matthias) Ali-Haghnejad, was informed of the charges ahead of her release on bail last Saturday, 28 January. She was arrested on 3 January, a week after the arrest of her husband and two church members at a Christmas gathering in their home city of Bandar Anzali, in north Iran. Anahita spent more than three weeks in detention in Lakan Prison in nearby Rasht, before her release on bail equivalent to $4,000. The other two men, whose first names are Amir and Masoud, have also been released on bail, though it is not yet known whether they face the same charges. Meanwhile, Matthias, who had been on a long furlough from prison before his re-arrest, is now back in Anzali Prison, serving a sentence he first received back in 2012. Matthias was actually acquitted in 2014, but in January 2022, after his release from a separate five-year prison sentence on the same charge – as part of an historic Supreme Court ruling involving eight other “Church of Iran” members – a different Supreme Court judge overturned his first acquittal and ordered his re-arrest. The pastor, who is from the “Church of Iran” denomination, has been arrested on numerous occasions, dating back to 2006. Anahita has also been arrested before and was among 11 converts charged more than a decade ago with “apostasy”, before their acquittal following two fatwas by leading ayatollahs Safi Golpaygani and Yousef Saanei.
Refugees given new hope with launch of US sponsorship scheme 31 January 2023 News The hundreds of Iranian Christian refugees stuck in countries like Turkey have been given fresh hope with the launch of a new sponsorship scheme in the US. Under the scheme, dubbed the “Welcome Corps” by the US State Department, US citizens or permanent residents will be able, in groups of at least five, to sponsor refugees for the first three months of their stay in the US. The United States is launching the Welcome Corps, the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades. This initiative enables Americans to directly support refugees and show the best of American hospitality and generosity. #JoinTheWelcomeCorps pic.twitter.com/MFp3lO1fQN— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 19, 2023 To do so, the groups will need to provide at least $2,275 per individual sponsored – groups are able to sponsor multiple individuals – and show that they have a “support plan” in place. The scheme is similar to the one already in place in Canada, and will provide Iranian Christian refugees, and many others, with renewed hope of resettlement after years of hopelessness. Article18 has reported on numerous occasions how many Iranian Christians have been stuck in countries like Turkey for in some cases up to a decade, seeking asylum but finding nowhere willing or able to take them. Last week, we reported that the situation for many refugees in Turkey, specifically, is becoming increasingly perilous, with anti-refugee sentiment rising, and deportations on the rise. Resettlement of refugees to the US and many other Western countries has reduced dramatically since 2016. Kate Meyer, from the International Refugee Assistance Project, last week explained during a webinar hosted by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom how one group of nearly 100 Iranian asylum-seekers found themselves stuck in Vienna, after a sudden shift in the US approach to refugees. Among this group, Ms Meyer highlighted the case of one Iranian Christian woman, who testified: “The time that we spent waiting in Vienna – six years in total – was very painful. Our short visa to Austria expired, leaving us without permission to work, proper health insurance, or source of financial support for ourselves and our daughter. We were warned to stay at home or risk being arrested and deported to Iran, and had to apply for asylum in Austria after the United States turned its back on us.” This woman, whose names was kept anonymous, was finally reunited with her parents in the US in time for Christmas last month, but as with so many others, the years of waiting took their toll. “Now that we are together again, it is bittersweet to reflect on what we lost during the years apart,” she said. “My parents have aged, and I am overcome with emotion when I think of the hardships they endured without us to support them. I had secured a job in the United States when I was first scheduled to travel, and while I kept the offer alive for some time afterwards eventually it disappeared. We feel very happy to be reunited but the trauma and despair of our journey remains with all of us who were stranded for so long.” For the many other refugees with similar stories, schemes like the Welcome Corps provide much-needed new hope. Please email us at info@articleeighteen.com if you would like to find out more about how, whether or not you live in the US, you can help Iranian Christian refugees find a new home.
‘Iran ostracises and silences Assyrians and Armenians who speak out’ 30 January 2023 News Dabrina Bet-Tamraz (second from right) speaking at the European Parliament launch of the Open Doors World Watch List last week. The daughter of Iranian-Assyrian church leaders, who were forced to flee Iran after being sentenced to a combined 15 years in prison, has sought to explain the “very strong contrast” between Christians like her parents and those who make public statements in support of the regime. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the representatives of Iranian Christians of Armenian and Assyrian descent – who unlike converts to Christianity are recognised as Christian by the regime – have regularly spoken of the “full religious freedom” they and other religious minorities purportedly enjoy. At the same time, Iranian-Assyrians like the Bet-Tamraz family, and Iranian-Armenians like Joseph Shahbazian and Anooshavan Avedian, have been harassed, arrested and handed long prison sentences for exercising their religious rights. Now, at the European Parliament launch of Open Doors’ World Watch List – of the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian – Dabrina Bet-Tamraz has attempted to explain why. “In November, the former MP of Iran’s Assyrian minority called Christians who have participated in or encouraged participation in the ongoing protests a ‘poisonous fungus’ and ‘cancerous tumour that should be operated on and separated from the Christian community’. This might shock you,” she said, “but for the past 40 years this is the kind of public statement that Armenian and Assyrian Christian leaders were pressured to make. And those who refuse to toe the line, like my parents, are ostracised and silenced by whatever means. “My parents, like me, were forced to flee Iran a couple of years ago. They were sentenced to a combined 15 years in prison, only for continuing to serve and minister to converts, as should have been their right under the international covenants [Iran has signed]. “Instead they were arrested, they were imprisoned, and they were forced to leave. Their accusations were ‘acting against national security’, ‘training and educating spies’ against the regime. “For the past four decades, the recognised Christian community in Iran has been subjected to monitoring, restrictions and control, resulting in a very strong contrast, as you see today, between leaders like my parents, who were forced out, and those like our Assyrian and Armenian MPs, who come out with public statements in support of the regime.” Dabrina said the protests in Iran had come about because Iranians wanted “to live in a way that corresponds with their beliefs”, and called on the international community to cut off all diplomatic ties with the regime. She said she had “got used to being discriminated against mistreated” – she reported being threatened with rape and “accidents” on multiple occasions by Iranian security forces – and said her prayer was that this would not also be the fate of the next generation in Iran.
Iranian Christian asylum seekers caught up in Turkey’s deportation drive 27 January 2023 News These are just some of the faces of the Iranian Christians who have been detained in Turkey in recent weeks. Article18 has received firsthand testimonies from five Iranian Christian refugee families – 17 individuals in total – who have been arrested in Turkey in recent weeks and taken to “removal centres”, where they have been detained and threatened with deportation. The Christians, who in some cases have been held for over three months, reported unsanitary conditions in the camps, lack of access to food, hot water and medication, and how husbands have been held separately from their wives and children and only permitted to see them once a week, for just 15 minutes, and in the presence of guards. Human Rights Watch has released two reports in recent months detailing similar mistreatment of Syrian and Afghan refugees, and now it appears Iranians are also being targeted. All but one of the Iranians Article18 spoke to are converts to Christianity; the other is an Iranian-Assyrian. (Assyrians are an ethnic minority group recognised as “Christian” in Iran, while converts from Islam are still considered Muslim, despite their change of belief.) Two are church leaders, while several of the others lead worship or help with the youth at their churches. The majority live in the city of Isparta, in south-western Turkey, and have been detained at camps in the coastal city of Antalya, two hours’ drive away. However, Article18 has also received reports of Iranian Christian refugees being arrested in several other cities over the past six months, and detained in camps across the country – including in the cities of Izmir and Aydin in the west, Van in the east, and Kayseri and Kirikkale in central Turkey. Some of the Christians recorded videos, which were sent to Article18 and in some cases also shared on social media, to help raise awareness of their plight. Meanwhile, those who have helped them to publicise their mistreatment have reported threats from the Turkish police. ‘Psychological war’ Kamran Topa Ebrahimi, with his wife, Mona, daughter Roshana (eight) and son Hoshiana (five). One of the Christians detained in Antalya, Kamran Topa Ebrahimi, explained how the men in his camp went on hunger strike to protest against the conditions there, and a lack of explanation of why they are being held. “They didn’t tell us [why],” says Kamran, who is being held separately from his wife, Mona, and their two children, eight-year-old Roshana and five-year-old Hoshiana. “They just said they were afraid we would run away after our case was rejected. We didn’t even know our case had been rejected. They just came to our home and took us, and later we realised that our translator had translated our statements incorrectly. “There is no hot water here at all for washing or bathing, and they put cockroaches in the food. They are starting a psychological war against us, telling us: ‘You are going to stay here for six months, and if you don’t return to your country in the next six months, it will be extended for another six months. And if you don’t return then, it will be extended for another year!’ “We just want clarification on our cases. They open the doors to our room from around eight or 10 in the morning until four in the afternoon, and then they put us back in our room again. They open them again at 8pm, until midnight, and then they’re closed.” ‘We use a rubbish bin to wash ourselves’ Kamran’s wife, Mona, explained how, as there is no hot water in the camp in which she and her two children are being held, she and the other detainees cleaned out a rubbish bin to use as a basin to wash themselves. “The situation is very bad,” she said. “Just to call you, I had to wait in a queue for more than one hour. Even for little things, we must fight to get what we need. You see fights for things like phone calls, washing machines, and even boiled water. “We don’t have a shower, and we don’t have hot water from the tap, so we cleaned a rubbish bin and use it to wash ourselves. Roshana and Hoshiana Topa Ebrahimi. “My son is five years old, and my daughter is eight, and in the last 21 days I could wash them properly only once. “There is only one doctor here, and no matter what illness we have, he says you need to take paracetamol. My children have been sick for the last 21 days, and they don’t get better because they don’t receive suitable and proper nutrition. I received antibiotics for them from outside the camp. My friends brought the medications to me. But even so, my children don’t get better. “We have been on hunger strike for a week now because we saw insects, hair and worms in our food, and the hygiene is terrible, and the children get stomach pains. We haven’t even received water and bread to give to our children yesterday or today. “There are six families here with children – from three to 18 years old – and the situation is not suitable for them at all. “How can Turkey deport us, as Christians, to Iran, as they know what’s going on there? They have started a psychological game against us to force us to sign our deportation forms. “The circumstances are so difficult that we would rather go to Iran and get killed than stay here. Especially for active Christians, the situation is so hard that I don’t know what the future looks like for us.” ‘Every day passes like a year’ Ninous, Azadeh and Anil Italiaee. For Ninous Italiaee, the Assyrian pastor, and his wife, Azadeh, the separation of Ninous from their three-year-old son, Anil, has been the hardest part of their detention. “For two months now, he can only see his father for 15 minutes a week,” Azadeh explained. “Unfortunately, Anil is very anxious here and he isn’t getting proper food; the hygiene is below-zero, unfortunately, and we have to wash with ice-cold water. “For two months, every day has passed like a year for us, and we really don’t know what is ahead. “It’s really like a swamp here [in Turkey]: the more we move, the deeper we sink. We have no way to return to Iran because my husband is an Assyrian Christian and I myself was born a Muslim. Our marriage certificate states that we are ‘Protestant Christians’, and my child was born in Turkey, so he has no identity in Iran. We really cannot go back.” Ninous explained how their asylum case was initially accepted by the UN, in 2017, before the UNHCR passed on the responsibility of assessing asylum claims to the Turkish authorities. Since then, he says their case has been reviewed and rejected three times by the Turkish authorities. “The UN interviewed us in 2017, which lasted four hours, and very soon afterwards we received a positive answer, and the UN organisation was kind enough to register the acceptance of the first interview on its website, which is still available,” he says. “Since then we have been waiting for a new country, but unfortunately we have not been granted one. And in fact, the UN organisation entrusted the work to the Turkish authorities, and unfortunately these people were not sufficiently competent to conduct the interview; they had no knowledge about the conditions of Christians in Iran. “They rejected our case, and the problems started for us. Now, unfortunately, it has come to this point and we have been living in this camp for two months. “The same people who were accepted by the UN, this same case was rejected by the Turkish police, and they rejected this case not once but even three times. I believe that they [the Turkish authorities] don’t know about the conditions of Christians in Iran, and that’s why I think this issue [of Turkish authorities assessing asylum claims] should be reconsidered – not only for me, but also for the other Christians who are here [in Turkey].” ‘My daughter just follows other children and cries’ Another of the detained Christians, Faranak Reziei, is of Kurdish ethnicity, and explained how she was arrested after changing her WhatsApp status to signify this fact on the 40th day after the death of Mahsa Amini, the young woman whose death in custody sparked the ongoing protests in Iran, and who was also a Kurd. (The 40th day after a death is a significant occasion for Iranians.) Faranak, with her daughter Mersana, who is now aged four. “I don’t know who but someone reported my story to the Turkish police and said that I am working with the Turkish Kurds [the PKK],” said Faranak, a single mother who has been detained for 30 days, along with her four-year-old daughter, Mersana. “After the investigation, the Turkish police said they didn’t see any problems, and that I could go, but the immigration police won’t let me. “Why would they search my four-year-old daughter and make her fearful and make her cry? “Food is another problem. The ingredients from outside the camp are sold here at two to three times the price. As a single-mother refugee, without any support, how can I buy food for my daughter? My daughter just follows other children and cries. “My crime is that I defended my country. The whole world knows what’s going on in Iran these days. I just wrote that ‘I am a Kurd’. What is the relationship between the Kurdish groups and me in Turkey? If I am a terrorist, why I don’t have 100 lira [$5] in my pocket to buy something for my daughter to prevent her from crying?” ‘They put lots of pressure on us’ Another young woman, Sarvenaz Ghaderi Bafghi, explained how she and her parents, Amir and Somayeh, brother Samyar, and sister Tanaz were “forcefully” taken to the Antalya camp, where they have been detained for 25 days. “The circumstances are very bad here,” she said. “They don’t give us medication. They say it takes 10 days to get medication, and you must pay for it. And we don’t have any support [here] to pay the rent for our home. The landlord will throw all our belongings away if we don’t pay the rent. “The situation is very difficult here, and they are rude to us. They put lots of pressure on us and it is affecting our mental health.” Sarvenaz (right) with her parents, Amir and Somayeh, brother Samyar, and sister Tanaz. ‘Scared to go outside’ Reza Pouti, pastor of the Iranian Freedom Church in Isparta, told Article18 he knew of one Iranian Christian who had been deported, with his wife and two children, before they could even sell their property in Turkey. “Others have signed the deportation orders so they won’t be sent to the camps,” he said. But the situation is difficult even for those outside the camps, explained the pastor, before he too was detained. “It’s a prison – not only in the camps but people even outside are under this big fear,” he said. “They’re afraid to open their door; that’s how bad the situation is – even afraid to go onto the street. “Every now and then they transfer asylum-seekers to the camps with trickery. I myself fear such a situation. “The police officers went to my house the other day. I don’t know why – because my asylum case was rejected and they want to transfer me to the camp, or because of the release of these videos and the delivery of food and medicine to our dear ones inside the camp. “Since no-one was home, they kept watch in front of the building, and my family and I cannot return to our home right now.” Reza in hospital. Three weeks after sending Article18 this message, Reza, who has multiple sclerosis, was himself arrested and detained, along with his wife Roshanak and younger son Mohammadreza. According to Article18’s source, the stress of the arrest led to a deterioration of Reza’s health, and he had to be hospitalised for a day, before being returned to the camp in Aydin, which is four hours from their home in Isparta. “Reza was just arriving home when he was arrested on the street by the police,” our source said. “That happened just a short time before he and his family were transferred to the camp. “The hygiene is very bad there. There is no soap or toilet-paper, and it is unclear for how long they will be kept there.” Turkey ‘not a safe third country’ In October, Human Rights Watch reported that hundreds of Syrian refugees had been detained in camps in Turkey in 2022, tricked into signing “voluntary” return forms, and forced back over the border at gunpoint. A month later, the rights group released another report detailing similar mistreatment of Afghan refugees. Human Rights Watch said the dramatic increase in deportations of refugees over the past year is “likely attributable, at least in part,” to a “tidal shift” in Turkish public opinion against refugees, with the vast majority of those surveyed saying refugees needed to be prevented from entering the country, or “deported urgently”. The political situation is not helping, with presidential elections on the horizon, and every single party promising to deal with the “refugee problem”. Human Rights Watch said it was now clear that Turkey is not and should never have been viewed as a safe third country. The EU was wrong to view it as such, Human Rights Watch said, and to continue to fund the centres in which refugees are being detained and forcibly deported. “The EU and its member states should acknowledge that Turkey does not meet its criteria for a safe third country, and suspend its funding of migration detention [centres] and border controls until forced deportations cease,” said Human Rights Watch researcher Nadia Hardman. “Declaring Turkey a safe third country is inconsistent with the scale of deportations… Member states should not make this determination and should focus on relocating asylum seekers by increasing resettlement numbers.” The EU’s deal with Turkey in 2016 was “based on the flawed premise that Turkey would be a safe third country”, Human Rights Watch’s report added. “However, Turkey has never met the EU’s safe third country criteria as defined by EU law.” Human Rights Watch noted how Turkey has ratified both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Covenant on Human Rights, both of which prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as inhuman and degrading treatment. “If Turkey detains a person to deport them but there is no realistic prospect of doing so, including because they would face harm in the destination country, or the person is unable to challenge their removal, the detention is arbitrary,” Human Rights Watch explained. The rights group also accused Turkey of failing to abide by international law regarding the principle of “non-refoulement”, which prohibits the return of anyone to a place where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, ill-treatment, or a threat to life. It should be noted that the UK Home Office’s current guidance on asylum cases involving Iranian Christians recognises that even “ordinary Christians” – not only leaders – are at “real risk of persecution”. Human Rights Watch has called on Turkey to allow the UNHCR to monitor and assess the mass deportations that have been taking place, to ensure refugees aren’t being forced back to their home countries against their will. If you would like to help support Iranian Christian refugees in Turkey or learn more about their options for resettlement, please email us at info@articleeighteen.com
Son of murdered pastor releases film in response to Iran executions 23 January 2023 News The son of a murdered Iranian pastor has produced a short film in protest against state executions in Iran. Joseph Hovsepian, whose father Haik was murdered in January 1994, posted the film, ‘We Will Win’, on his Instagram page following the first public executions of protesters last month. In the film, a little girl looks outside her apartment window to see a rope being placed around a man’s neck. When asked why the man is being pushed around, her father tells his daughter that it is a game, in which they put a rope around someone’s neck and everyone else has to shout their name. The man and his daughter proceed to chant the names of numerous Iranians killed by security forces in recent months, or at imminent threat of execution. The message of the film, Joseph told VOA, is that: “We will eventually win this game, this battle, and despite paying a heavy price, with courage and perseverance, we will win and will not be disappointed.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by JFA Visual (@jfa.visual) ‘A letter to my father’ In a separate post on his Instagram page yesterday, Joseph read out his “letter to my father”, written in his 49th year, the age at which his father was murdered. In the emotional video, Joseph shares how at different stages in his life, he thought back to when his father was that age, and considered the many lessons he could learn from his life. He ends his tribute by noting: “After this year, there will not be any reference points for me to review your life and to compare to.” He adds: “I think this year, with a revolution happening in Iran, people in Iran have also come to understand the value of freedom – freedom to believe – and are willing to fight for it.” You can watch the recording below, or read the full transcript at the bottom of this page. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joseph Hovsepian (@joe.hov) “To the man who was ahead of his time, and knew the cost of following Christ and the price for freedom. “Since your death 29 years ago, when I was 20 years old, every year I tried to put myself in your shoes. I don’t know exactly why, but maybe because I wanted to experience what you had experienced. I wanted to see your perspective in light of the events and situations that you had faced. “And maybe simply, I just wanted to get to know you more, more than the 20 years that I had the chance for. “When I was 23 years old, I remembered how you fell in love with my mum. And just as her name meant “queen” in Armenian, you treated her like a queen. You showed her love and you were faithful to her until the very end. It was then that I realised how much I can learn from you, to be a faithful and loving husband. When I was 25 I remembered that when you were 25, while ministering to churches in the north of Iran, you had an accident on the highway and lost your first child, who was only six months old. “You were in hospital for two months with a broken face and bones, but your spirit was never crushed. It was then that I realised how much I can learn from you, trusting the Lord in all circumstances and being joyful. “When I was 29 years old, I remembered you at age 29, when you were already serving in a small church in Gorgan, a city with fanatic religious Muslims, who sometimes attacked the church, breaking the church glass, giving you threatening letters and more. But you stood your ground and continued your mission. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from your call to the mission, and perseverance. “When 34, while I was a dad myself, I remembered despite your busy job and challenges at the time, you spent quality time with us as kids, taking us out to have ice cream, bicycle rides, and even you built a small pool in our backyard in Gorgan. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from you, to be a loving and fun father. “When I was 40, I remembered you at the age of 40. You were in Tehran, and you had so many responsibilities that I could never imagine. “You were in leadership; you had a high position and power, were highly respected. But you never became prideful. You didn’t misuse your authority; you treated everyone equally, child or adult. With your humility and teamwork, you soon became the leader of all Protestant churches in Iran. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from your teamwork and humility in leadership. “When I was 45, I remembered that when you were 45, the church was under a lot of pressure from the government, which ultimately resulted in the execution by hanging of one of your best colleagues, Pastor Soodmand in the city of Mashhad. “You immediately went there to show love and care to the family and to the body of Christ, and assuring them that they will be OK. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from your love and support for the people in the church. When 46, I remembered the difficult situation at your age of 46; there were natural disasters, earthquakes, refugee crisis and a country in major need of help and relief. “As a leader of the church, you used all your resources to bring support and relief to the refugees, to the villages in Rasht, and to the Afghan refugees and much more. “I remember that you personally went to all those refugee camp locations and sometimes even took me with you, so that I could see the power of love in action. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from you, to love and care for the people outside the church. When 47, I realised as a pastor you have done hundreds of sermons and songs, but none of those would have been effective if you didn’t live them. Your life was the loudest song and message that you ever preached. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from you, or how much we can learn from you, to be true Christians. “Last year when I was 48, I remembered that at you’re 48th the stress and pressure around you were at its maximum level, and I could sometimes notice that in your voice; I could see that in your face, no matter how much you were trying to hide it from your family. “I remember your suitcase that was always ready by the door to immediately respond to a call and travel short and long distances to save someone from prison and give hope to a colleague who were constantly under threat. “All this was happening while you yourself were regularly interrogated, threatened and forced by the regime to close the doors of the churches. But you bravely stood against all these pressures, and never compromised. “It was then that I realised how much I can learn from you: wisdom and bravery. “Time has passed and it has finally come to this year, that I am 49. And this year at your 49th, on such a day as January 19th, you were kidnapped from the streets of Tehran, and soon after, were horribly attacked by the regime’s forces and were stabbed to death. “As I review every moment of your life, at your 49th, I try to skip the painful and bleeding parts that you experienced at the very last moments of your martyrdom. “I do believe that God gave you extra strength in those moments. If this year I were to put myself in your shoes and experience what you experienced, I would certainly feel very weak and probably scared. “But I am once again reminded of not to compare and to know that God has created me and each of us differently. So today, I can still be the best that God has created me for. “This year at age 49, I’m starting to understand you better, to know you better. I think this year, with a revolution happening in Iran, people in Iran have also come to understand the value of freedom – freedom to believe – and are willing to fight for it. “It is this year that more than any other year, I understand your love for God, your love for people, regardless of their colour, ethnicity, language, or belief. “This year, I and many others realise how much we can still learn from your value for freedom, love for neighbour, and the courage and sacrifice for friends. “After this year, there will not be any reference points for me to review your life and to compare to. I know I will continue remembering you and missing you. “With your life and martyrdom you have left so much behind for me and for us that we can learn from you for the rest of our lives. “Even if as time goes by, and my memory starts to degrade and stories start to fade away, for sure I will remember these three highlights from your life: faith, hope and love, and I will always remember that love is the greatest.” Joseph Hovsepian
Converts among women prisoners to ‘say “no” to executions’ 23 January 2023 News Malihe Nazari (left) and Sara Ahmadi. Two Iranian Christian converts are among 30 women prisoners of conscience to have signed a joint statement denouncing state executions in Iran, as protesters continue to be sentenced to death. Sara Ahmadi and Malihe Nazari, who are serving eight and six years in prison, respectively, for their involvement in house-churches, joined their fellow inmates in the women’s ward of Tehran’s Evin Prison in co-signing the statement, which was shared on Twitter yesterday on the campaign page of one of the other women, Fariba Adelkhah. Déclaration de 30 prisonnières de la prison d'Evin, dont Fariba Adelkhah: "Nous, prisonnières politiques et idéologiques du quartier des femmes de la prison d'Evin, demandons la fin des exécutions des manifestants et la fin des peines injustes infligées aux prisonniers en Iran.— Free Fariba Adelkhah (@FaribaRoland) January 22, 2023 “Whatever our religious and political beliefs and backgrounds – women’s-rights defenders, Marxists, human-rights activists, environmentalists, student activists, communists, photographers, ‘mothers of justice’ and ‘mourning mothers’ [women whose children were killed by the regime], Erfan-e-Halgheh, Christians, Baha’is, monarchists, members of Iran’s National Elites Foundation, researchers, child-rights activists – we agreed to say ‘no’ to executions,” the women wrote. The full text of the statement, and list of signatories, can be read below. Sara is the wife of Homayoun Zhaveh, a 64-year-old man with advanced Parkinson’s disease, who is also serving a two-year sentence in Evin for his involvement in their house-church. Malihe was part of the same case as Joseph Shahbazian, an Iranian-Armenian pastor now serving a 10-year sentence in Evin, and Mina Khajavi, who also faces six years in prison. There are currently at least 18 Christians serving sentences of prison or exile in Iran because of their participation in house-churches. House-churches have become the predominant meeting place for Persian-speaking Christians over the past decade, in the wake of the forced closure of churches that offered services in the national language of Persian. However, even though these meetings are no different from other church services or the “house groups” offered by churches around the world, the Iranian regime has labelled them “enemy groups” that “threaten national security”. As a result, their members are routinely harassed and arrested, and in recent years have faced sentences of up to 15 years in prison. Full text of statement “We, the political and ideological prisoners of the women’s ward of Evin prison, demand an end to the executions of protesters and an end to the unjust sentences imposed on prisoners in Iran,” the 30 women wrote. “We have all been sentenced, to a total of 124 years in prison, following unfair and non-transparent trials. This is equivalent to several generations of human life. “Whatever our religious and political beliefs and backgrounds – women’s-rights defenders, Marxists, human-rights activists, environmentalists, student activists, communists, photographers, ‘mothers of justice’ and ‘mourning mothers’ [women whose children were killed by the regime], Erfan-e-Halgheh, Christians, Baha’is, monarchists, members of Iran’s National Elites Foundation, researchers, child-rights activists – we agreed to say “no” to executions. “We defend the right of people to live, with justice.” Afsane EmamiBahareh SoleymaniElnaz EslamiFarangis MazloomFaezeh HashemiFariba AdelkhahGelareh AbbasiHaleh GholamiHasti AmiriMahnaz TarahMalihe NazariMaryam Haj HosseiniMorvarid FartoomiNahid TaghaviNarges AdibNarges ZarifianNazanin Mohammad NejadNiloufar BayaniNooshin JafariRaha Askari ZadehSamin EhsaniSara AhmadiSepideh QolianSepideh KashaniShohreh GholikhaniRoshanak MolaeiZhila MakvandiZohreh DaravriZohreh SarvZohreh Zivar
‘We held each other’s hands, and cried in silence’ 20 January 2023 Features “Sometimes, even though I’ll be sitting next to my family, it will be as though I’m not there. I’ll stare at a fixed point in the distance for some time. My wife also exhibits the same kind of behaviour.” These are the words of Ali Kazemian, more than a decade after he and his wife, Zahra, left Iran following their arrest, sentencing to imprisonment, and continued harassment by intelligence agents because of their participation in a house-church. In Ali’s case, he was forced during two and a half months in Shiraz’s Adel Abad Prison to watch as the prisoners he was detained alongside were executed one after another. Those months in prison were the first time Ali had spent a night apart from his wife and two sons, and even now he says that when he leaves home he’ll “call home at least 10 times to ask my family how they’re doing, where they are, have they eaten, and do they need something”. Ali and Zahra, both converts to Christianity, were arrested in their home city of Shiraz in the summer of 2009. Zahra came from a very religious Muslim family, but converted after seeing the profound impact it had had on her husband, who had been a drug addict for 25 years beforehand. Zahra used to consider Christians “impure” and had even been reluctant to enter their homes, and during her week in detention she was asked by her interrogator whether she regretted her decision. When Zahra answered that she would “still choose Christ”, the interrogator “became very angry … threw an object that hit me in the head, and slapped me in the face a few times”. “Due to the stress and pressure of being in detention, my period was brought on earlier than usual,” she recalls. “I asked the officers for sanitary towels, but they didn’t bring them for two days! The conditions were torturous.” When Zahra was released on bail, she suffered more pressure from Ali’s family, who blamed her for his arrest and threatened to ensure they divorced and the children were taken away from her. Ali’s mother later joined Zahra at Ali’s Revolutionary Court hearing and fainted because of how much her son had changed – he’d lost 30kg in weight – then fell at the judge’s feet, kissing his shoes and begging him: “Let my child go free!” When Ali and Zahra were charged with “acting against national security”, their lawyer asked them how many guns they had had in their possession when arrested. When they responded that they hadn’t had any guns and explained the reason for their arrest, the lawyer seemed surprised and said he was confident the charge would be dropped. It was, but the other charge – of “propaganda against the regime” – was not, and they were both sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for five years. Ali and Zahra appealed, but neither they nor their lawyer were permitted to attend the hearing; the lawyer only received a call a few days later, telling him the appeal had been rejected. And even though Ali and Zahra’s sentences were suspended, they continued to be harassed by intelligence agents. Ali was fired from his job – on the orders of the Ministry of Intelligence – and the children were kicked out of their schools. When Zahra received a summons to prison, an officer there told her it would be better for them if they left the country. Their lawyer agreed. “The prison officer is right,” he said. “Right now they are calling you twice a week from the Ministry of Intelligence; they don’t allow you to work, and your children aren’t allowed to study. They may also seize your bail. I think it would be better for you if you left the country.” Eventually, Ali and Zahra decided to do as they were advised, and in the spring of 2011 sold what little possessions they had, and took the money with them to Turkey, where the traumatic effects of all they had suffered has been compounded by further challenges and years of uncertainty. “Our suffering continues,” says Ali. “We have been living in Turkey for over 10 years, and during this time my sons couldn’t continue their education and are in a state of depression. Danial was 16 years old and Samuel was six when we came to this country.” Zahra adds: “Due to our bad financial situation, we are sharing a flat with some other Christians in our city. Due to the small size of the city, there are few jobs, but after some time my husband found a job. He always had a Bible in his pocket and read it in his spare time. One day, when his Turkish employer found out that he was a Christian, he took the Bible from his hand and threw it in my husband’s face, and spat at him too. After a year and a half, he was able to find a permanent job, but he receives 20 liras ($1) a day, which is a very low amount. “We are in a state of uncertainty. The UNHCR is closed and we don’t have insurance for medical services. We aren’t allowed to travel to other cities in Turkey without the permission of the police. The police doesn’t easily give this permit. They treat us like prisoners. In Iran we suffered from the government, and our family, and in this country too we are under pressure and persecution. My whole family has become depressed and anxious.” You can read Ali and Zahra’s full Witness Statement here.