Christian convert Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi on his arrest, 10-year sentence and why he left Iran 18 November 2020 Features Iranian Christian convert Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi has spoken exclusively with Article18 about his arrest at a Christmas gathering in 2014, at the home of Iranian-Assyrian pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, his subsequent 10-year prison sentence, and the eventual rejection of his appeal earlier this year. In the 17-minute video interview, Kavian, who is now living as an asylum seeker in Turkey, begins by explaining why he and other converts meet together in private homes, rather than churches: “Unfortunately, a few years ago, [nearly] all Persian-language churches in Iran were closed,” he explains. “The only place where Christians – I’m talking about Persian-speaking churches – can gather is in homes. So inevitably we do gather together like this, but of course it wouldn’t be our first choice and it isn’t safe.” Kavian then describes how he was arrested, even though they had no warrant for his arrest and “didn’t seem to know what to do with me”, and how the agents treated him “respectfully” during his arrest, but changed their behaviour “180 degrees” after he was detained. “I was kept for 23 days in solitary confinement, in an environment where you have no access to anything,” he says. “Even my glasses were taken away from me! There was neither a pen, nor anything else; there was nothing you could do. It was very difficult, and the interrogations were very sporadic. You weren’t sure if you were going to be interrogated one day, or a week later, nor how long you would have to stay in that place: a day, a week, a month, a year … a lifetime? They put me in a state of total uncertainty, which was incredibly stressful.” Kavian says he was blindfolded any time he left his cell and that during his interrogations a set of blank sheets of paper were placed in front of him and he was told to fill 16 pages. “It is against the law to make someone write about themselves without any specific question,” he explains, “and it really placed me under a lot of pressure.” ‘You’ll be here so long, your hair will turn white like your teeth!’ Kavian says the agents told him that if he “cooperated”, they would reduce his punishment. “These were exactly the words of my interrogator: ‘If you cooperate really well, we will turn your lifetime imprisonment into five years, the five-year imprisonment into some months, or even release you right now. It depends on how much you cooperate with us!’” Kavian says. After he refused, they reportedly said: “You’re going to be here for so long, your hair will turn white like your teeth!” Kavian was eventually sentenced, in July 2017, to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising and conducting an illegal house-church”. This 10-year sentence was the most severe punishment the law provides for conducting a so-called “illegal” assembly, Kavian explains. “And actually I hadn’t ever even been summoned before,” he says. “I received no warning; I hadn’t even been once to the Ministry of Intelligence, nor had there ever been any court case against me, but they severely punished me, without any evidence. “They accused me of ‘organising and conducting an illegal assembly’ – namely, a house-church – and preaching ‘evangelical Christianity’. But actually I personally didn’t lead a church – which wouldn’t be illegal anyway, but nevertheless I didn’t! They didn’t even take any evidence from me; they didn’t even find my Bible! The only ‘evidence’ they had was the interrogations they had done with me.” Kavian then explains how he fled Iran about four years ago, after becoming less and less “optimistic” about his case. But it wasn’t until this summer, nearly six years after his arrest and more than three years after his sentencing, that Kavian finally heard his appeal, and those of the other four Christians sentenced alongside him, had been rejected. Since leaving Iran, Kavian says he has lived in “complete uncertainty”. “I registered as an asylum seeker at the United Nations,” he says, “but after four years not only was I not interviewed, but I am still in an unstable situation in Turkey, and still the situation really isn’t clear. So I have no clear vision for the future.” Kavian says he was particularly disappointed when his application for a humanitarian visa to live in Australia was rejected. “That was a big shock for me,” he says. “I really didn’t expect that such a heavy sentence would be handed down to me, and then that a country that accepts asylum seekers would reject my case, and that this very severe psychological pressure would be placed on me.”
Four Christians given combined 35 years in prison 17 November 2020 News Mehdi Akbari (left), known as Yasser, and Mehdi Rokhparvar are now in Evin Prison. Four Christian converts have been sentenced to a combined 35 years in prison. Mehdi Akbari, Fatemeh Sharifi and Simin Soheilinia were given 10 years, and Mehdi Rokhparvar five, all under the same charge of “acting against national security by forming a house-church”. Very little is known about their case, but Article18 has been able to independently verify that Mehdi A and Mehdi R are both now serving their sentences in Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. It is therefore assumed that Fatemeh and Simin are in the women’s ward of the prison, but Article18 has not yet been able to verify this. If confirmed, that would bring the total number of Christian prisoners of conscience currently in Evin to at least 17. A further two Christians, Ebrahim Firouzi and Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi, are currently in internal exile following their release from prison, while another, Majidreza Souzanchi, is now in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary on criminal charges he denies. In total, that would mean 20 Iranian Christians are currently serving sentences either in prison or exile. What is known about the latest case? The latest case was first reported last month by Persian-language website humanrightsinir.org. According to that report, the combined 35-year prison sentences were handed down by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh – nicknamed the “Judge of Death” for his harsh treatment of prisoners of conscience – at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on Saturday 24 October. But little else is known about the case. Indeed, the many unknowns are a good example of what Article18 and other rights groups have said for years: that the publicly reported cases are not to be viewed as comprehensive, because many other cases are not reported for a variety of reasons, such as fears that going public with a report could increase the likelihood of prosecution or severity of punishment.
Second convert flogged for drinking Communion wine 16 November 2020 News Saheb Fadaie. Despite international condemnation of the recent flogging of an Iranian convert for drinking Communion wine, a second convert has now received the same punishment. Zaman Fadaie, who prefers to be called Saheb, received 80 lashes yesterday, one month and one day after his friend Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi endured the same punishment. Saheb is currently serving a six-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison for organising house-churches and “promoting ‘Zionist’ Christianity”. His sentence was originally 10 years but was reduced at a retrial in June. However, Saheb is still sentenced to six years in prison, followed by two years in internal exile after his release, while the 80 lashes related to a separate 2016 conviction for drinking wine as part of Communion. As reported last month following Youhan’s flogging, in Iran it is illegal for Muslims to drink alcohol, but there are exemptions for recognised religious minorities, including Christians. However, converts like Youhan and Saheb are not recognised as Christians. A third convert, Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh, was also sentenced to the 80 lashes, but he was not summoned yesterday, and it is unclear if and when his sentence will be carried out. It had been assumed that both Saheb and Yasser would be flogged after their release from prison, as happened in Youhan’s case. However, Saheb was summoned to the Shahid Moghadas Revolutionary Court next to Evin Prison yesterday, and told his sentence must be carried out then and there. Article18 has no information on the injuries Saheb sustained during his flogging. Reacting to the news, US State Department spokesman Gabriel Noronha tweeted that “ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are birds of the same radical feather”. Now hearing from @articleeighteen that another Iranian Christian has been lashed 80 times for drinking communion wine – and is serving 6 years in prison for organizing house churches. ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are birds of the same radical feather. https://t.co/L7Yzb3xLkT— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) November 16, 2020 What happened to Youhan? Youhan Omidi. Youhan was released from prison in August after completing his two-year sentence – reduced from 10 years at the retrial. But a month later he began two years’ internal exile in the southwestern city of Borazjan, 1,000km from his home city of Rasht. Then, after just one month in exile, Youhan received a summons to return to Rasht to receive his 80 lashes, but when he went to the local authorities in Borazjan to seek permission, they flogged him on the spot. The US State Department condemned Youhan’s flogging, with spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus tweeting that the US was “deeply disturbed” by the “unjust punishments” of prison and lashes for practising one’s faith. Deeply disturbed by reports Iran lashed Mohammad Reza Omidi 80 times for drinking communion wine. He already served two years in prison for belonging to a house church. We condemn these unjust punishments and urge Iran to allow all Iranians the freedom to practice their beliefs.— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) October 16, 2020
Iran’s repression of human rights defenders focus of new report 13 November 2020 News Mary Mohammadi (5th row, centre), Nasrin Sotoudeh (top-left) & Amirsalar Davoudi (4th row, centre) are among 53 activists featured in the report by Oslo-based Iran Human Rights. Christian convert Fatemeh (Mary) Mohammadi is among 53 activists featured in a new report highlighting Iran’s repression of human rights defenders. Together, the 53 lawyers, teachers, and activists for civil, environmental, women’s, worker’s and minority rights have been sentenced to almost 400 years of imprisonment and 800 lashes. Earlier this year, Mary was sentenced to 91 days in prison and 10 lashes for protesting against Iran’s downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Mary, who has previously spent six months in prison for belonging to a house-church, has also been vocal in her defence of the rights of fellow converts, especially their right to meet together to worship. Last year, she started a campaign named “KHMA” (from the Persian for “Church is Christians’ Right”), calling for converts to be to allowed to worship in a church. Most churches in Iran are only allowed to hold services in the ethnic-minority languages of Armenian and Assyrian, while neither they nor the few remaining churches that are allowed to hold services in the national language of Persian are permitted to allow converts to attend. This has meant that the only available space for Christian converts to gather together to worship are underground house-churches, which remain “underground” only because they have been anathematised by the Iranian regime, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei once naming them among the “critical threats” facing the Islamic Republic. Mary Mohammadi has spent six months in prison for her membership of a house-church and was last year kicked out of university, without explanation. Since those comments, now more than a decade ago, dozens of house-churches across the country have been raided by intelligence agents, and hundreds of Christians have been arrested on charges of “acting against national security”, while many, like Mary, have been imprisoned. There are currently at least 13 Christians imprisoned on charges related to the peaceful practice of their faith, while two others are now living in internal exile following their release from prison. The latest raid on Christian homes took place this week in Fardis, west of Tehran, when intelligence agents raided 12 homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating personal belongings including Bibles, Christian literature and anything else to do with Christianity. “I want to use my campaign to educate people who don’t know that converts are regarded as inferior,” Mary commented last year. “When people talk about women’s rights or against the death penalty, everyone supports them. But every time you talk about Christians’ rights, many people say it’s impossible.” Who else is featured in the report? Amirsalar Davoudi (Photo: Center For Human Rights in Iran) One of four human rights lawyers featured in the report is Amirsalar Davoudi, who has helped a number of Christians in their legal fights, including convert Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, alongside whom he is now incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Amirsalar recently helped Nasser with his third appeal for a retrial, which was rejected last week despite a robust defence. “In house-churches, people read the same books that official Armenian-speaking churches read,” Nasser’s defence stated, “and if we are all equal before the law, it is highly perplexing that I’ve been accused based on the reports by the Ministry of intelligence, when they have no rights of legislation. How could they identify my action as a crime? When the believers in Jesus Christ gather together to read the Bible, one government ministry cannot unilaterally consider that act a crime.” Amirsalar’s wife, Tannaz, said that for the couple’s young daughter, Ayrin, being separated from her father for the past two years has been “a great sorrow, and harder still is the pain in her eyes as she counts the moments until the next Wednesday prison visit, when she can truly express her feelings to him”. "The absence of a #father is a great sorrow, and harder still is the pain in #Ayreen's eyes as she counts the moments until the next Wednesday prison visit, when she can truly express her feelings to him" – @tannaz_ayrin, wife of imprisoned rights lawyer #Amirsalar_Davoudi. #Iran https://t.co/nNdlZrOovd— Article18 (@articleeighteen) November 19, 2020 Nasrin Sotoudeh (Facebook) Another of the featured rights lawyers is Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was last week given a short leave from prison because of ill health and has now tested positive for Covid-19. One of the many charges brought in the case against Nasrin included allegations of helping to form house-churches. No evidence was brought to substantiate this claim, but fellow lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi explained to Radio Farda last year that, even were there evidence, there is nothing within Iran’s Penal Code prohibiting people from forming house-churches, “let alone assisting others in doing so”. Another of the activists featured in the report is Narges Mohammadi, who recently released a book about the “white torture” she and a dozen other female political prisoners, including Mary Mohammadi, had experienced during their detention.
Christian convert’s third plea for retrial rejected 13 November 2020 News Imprisoned Christian convert Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh has been informed that his third request for a retrial has been rejected. Nasser, who is 59 years old, is serving a 10-year prison sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison because of his membership of a house-church, for which he was convicted in July 2017 of “acting against national security”. He has been in prison since January 2018. In his latest petition for a retrial, Nasser argued, with the help of fellow inmate and human rights lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi, that he had done nothing that “constituted a legally defined crime”. Nasser’s appeal was rejected on 16 September but he only heard about it last week. “Organisation of house-churches has been associated with an act of crime,” Nasser’s petition stated, “but how can house-churches be considered a crime when holding Islamic religious ceremonies in a house is not? “In house-churches, people read the same books that official Armenian-speaking churches read, and if we are all equal before the law, it is highly perplexing that based on the reports by the Ministry of intelligence, I’ve been accused, when the Ministry of Intelligence has no rights of legislation. How could they identify my action as a crime? When the believers in Jesus Christ gather together to read the Bible, one government ministry cannot unilaterally consider that act a crime. “Being a follower of a certain religion, and performing its religious rites, should not be criminalised as an act of sabotage or overthrowing the government.” Nasser’s petition was rejected by majority vote, in a ruling dated 16 September but only communicated to him last week. In their ruling, the judges said they found no grounds for a retrial, as Nasser had failed to meet any of the criteria necessary under articles 474 and 476 of the Criminal Procedural Code. Nasser’s argument was based on the seventh point of Article 474, regarding the action taken “not constituting a crime” or the conviction being “greater than the legally defined crime”. Nasser was helped in his petition by Amirsalar Davoudi, a human rights lawyer alongside whom he is now imprisoned. (Photo: Center For Human Rights in Iran) However, in their short written verdict, the judges said that, “After consideration, and recognition that the prisoner’s previous two requests for a retrial have been turned down by this court … And after reading the report by Mr Gol-Tapeh, and looking through his documents, we have come to the following decision by majority vote: that the appeal doesn’t have sufficient grounds under Article 474 or Article 476 for a retrial.” Reacting to the news, Nasser’s former lawyer Hossein Ahmadiniaz tweeted: “He is completely innocent. His crime is peace, friendship, honour and human dignity. Nasser defended himself tenaciously in court. I will always testify to his courage, bravery and honesty and I am proud to have been the lawyer of such an honourable man.” #NasserNavardGolTapeh's former lawyer @H_Ahmadiniaz reacts after his 3rd plea for #retrial rejected: "He's completely innocent. I'll always testify to his courage, bravery & honesty & am proud to have been the lawyer of such an honourable man." Full story: https://t.co/shCtVbCRVu https://t.co/UW9Gf5sj8I— Article18 (@articleeighteen) November 16, 2020 ‘Is reading the Bible acting against national security?’ This isn’t the first time Nasser has queried how membership of a house-church can be considered an “action against national security”. In an open letter to the judiciary in August 2018, Nasser posed three questions: “Would it be even possible for a committed Christian – who was born and raised in Iran and whose forefathers lived in this land for thousands of years, and who is a servant to the God who has called him to a ministry of reconciliation – to act against the national security of his own country? “Is the fellowship of a few Christian brothers and sisters in someone’s home, singing worship songs, reading the Bible and worshiping God acting against national security? “Isn’t it in fact a clear violation of civil and human rights, and an absolute injustice, to receive a 10-year prison sentence just for organising house-churches, which is a sanctuary sanctified as a place to praise and worship God due to closure of churches in Iran?” Yet, despite his continued protestations, Nasser’s pleas for justice have been dismissed for a third time and he is now set to remain in prison, if forced to serve his whole sentence, until he is 66 years old.
Christian homes targeted in coordinated Fardis raids 11 November 2020 News Fardis (Wikipedia) Twelve Christian homes were raided by intelligence agents today in a coordinated operation in Fardis, west of Tehran, at around 9am. None of the Christians were arrested, but many of their personal belongings were confiscated – including phones, laptops, Bibles, Christian literature and anything else to do with Christianity – and they can expect to be summoned for interrogation in the coming days. This is the second time in just a few months that coordinated raids have targeted Christians in the Tehran area. Previously, on the evening of 30 June and morning of 1 July, at least 17 Christians were arrested during a coordinated operation affecting at least 35 Christians in Tehran, sister city Karaj, and Malayer, 400km southwest of Tehran. Most of those arrested were released on bail after a few days, having been charged with “acting against national security by promoting ‘Zionist Christianity’”. However, two were detained for over 50 days, and only released after their families deposited billions of tomans for their bail – the equivalent of around $100,000 in the case of Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian. Court proceedings against the Christians are ongoing.
Iran’s judicial standards document just another smokescreen 6 November 2020 Analysis Iran’s new judicial standards document, published last month by head of the judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, is certainly an eyebrow-raiser. The document includes 37 guidelines for Iran’s judges, which on the face of it match up well with international standards. The problem is that the guidelines and the reality on the ground are some way apart. Indeed, the new document was published just two days after the UN’s Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, gave Iran its latest public dressing down for “persistent and gross human rights violations”, including the use of torture, denial of medical treatment and forced confessions against detainees – some of the very things that on paper at least Mr Raisi also condemns. But to the educated observer, it is difficult to take the new document seriously. Below, Article18 highlights just a few of the reasons why, with the help of Iranian legal expert Hossein Ahmadiniaz, who describes Mr Raisi’s document as “beautiful in appearance” but in reality only “propaganda” and “an attempt to restore the damaged image of the judiciary because of its failure to establish judicial justice in Iran”. Equality before the law? According to Mr Raisi’s new guidelines, everyone has the right to a fair trial in Iran, “without discrimination on any grounds, whether gender, race, colour, language, religion, political opinion or other criteria”. Hossein Ahmadiniaz (Twitter @H_Ahmadiniaz) The reality is somewhat different, however, as noted by numerous international observers including the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, who has regularly decried Iran’s lack of fair-trial provisions. Meanwhile, on the same day that Mr Guterres was publicly criticising Iran’s rights violations, 120 lawyers and activists, including Mr Ahmadiniaz, published an open letter to Mr Raisi, calling on him to overturn one particularly shocking recent ruling – against a Christian couple whose two-year-old adopted daughter is set to be taken away from them, because they are Christian converts. “Unfortunately, the Iranian judiciary lacks independence, and this has led to increased oppression of certain citizens, especially certain minorities, including religious minorities such as Christian converts,” Mr Ahmadiniaz explains. “It is a bitter truth that religious expression in Iran is strictly controlled and monitored by the regime, and that freedom or civil rights for religious minorities are not respected. “The ideology of the Iranian regime and its opposition to any belief other than the official dogma of the Islamic Republic has had a profound effect on the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. “For example, Christian converts are barred from having Persian-speaking churches and are forced to conduct their prayers and religious ceremonies secretly in private homes, which has led to severe crackdowns by security forces and the judiciary. “Meanwhile, even the Sunni minority in Tehran doesn’t have a mosque and despite many efforts has not been able to obtain a permit. “All these restrictions and illegal and inhumane treatment of minorities takes place while the constitution in the 12th and 13th articles refers to the diversity of religions in Iran, but these principles, like this new judicial document and Rouhani’s charter of civil rights, are only written on paper to present a false image: that Iran respects the rights of minorities. “The issuance of the horrific ruling to remove Lydia, the young child of a Christian-convert couple, is a concrete example of this judicial oppression in Iran, lack of judicial independence and illegal treatment of religious minorities.” Torture ‘absolutely prohibited’ According to Mr Raisi’s new guidelines, there is an “absolute prohibition” on all torture and degrading treatment in Iran – “in all circumstances”. But again, the reality on the ground is rather different, as highlighted by a new book by former political prisoner Narges Mohammadi, which includes the testimonies of 12 prisoners of conscience, including Christian convert Mary Mohammadi, testifying to their experiences of “white torture” in Iran’s prisons. The testimonies of prisoners in Narges Mohammadi’s book on ‘White Torture’ are at odds with Mr Raisi’s proclamations. According to Mr Ahmadiniaz, torture is in fact an “integral part of Iran’s judiciary and security agencies, which has always been present in these 41 years [since the revolution], despite the prohibitions in Article 38 of the constitution, Article 578 of the the old Islamic Penal Code, Articles 169 and 436 of the new Islamic Penal Code, and other laws”. ‘White torture’ is specifically prohibited in Mr Raisi’s document, which states that “detaining a person in such a way that they are temporarily or permanently deprived of the use of their natural senses, such as seeing or hearing, or not knowing their location or the time of day, is a violation of law and human dignity”. But according to Mr Ahmadiniaz, “The fact of the matter is that the judiciary itself oversees and is part of the torture system in Iran, so when the judiciary itself oversees and orders torture, how can it be expected to prosecute perpetrators? “Despite the many scandals that have occurred at the hands of the Iranian judiciary regarding torture, such as the serial killings [of political prisoners in 1988] or the recent case of Maziar Ebrahimi, to date no torturer in Iran has been arrested or detained – despite all these laws.” Arbitrary detention and denial of medical care Arbitrary detention is another of the prohibitions listed in Mr Raisi’s document, alongside denial of medical care to prisoners, but according to Mr Ahmadiniaz, “In practice, agents affiliated with security agencies detain individuals without regard to the law, due to their unbridled authority and support of the revolutionary courts. Christian prisoner of conscience Saheb Fadaie was denied treatment despite having a constant fever for over a week and hallucinating. “This is the case in most of the legal proceedings against Christian converts, journalists, and other political and ‘security’ defendants. Therefore, not only have the existing laws and regulations not been able to prevent arbitrary detention, but this new judicial security document will also not be able to prevent it. These agents consider themselves beyond the law, and the problem is that they have extralegal power to arbitrarily detain individuals.” Mr Ahmadiniaz adds: “This document also speaks about the right to health and access of prisoners to health provisions, but this is a fiction. At present, the right to health and treatment for Christian and political prisoners is systematically violated and the regime uses all means to pressure these prisoners, and their psychological torture hinders their realisation of this right, and no legal document has been able to provide it.” Innocent until proven guilty? Mr Raisi’s document espouses the principle of “innocence until proven guilty”, but according to Mr Ahmadiniaz, “Unfortunately in Iran the usual practice is in fact to seek to justify the accusation, and to always look at issues and individuals from a conspiratorial perspective. “This causes everyone to be considered a suspect. Such a perspective leads to the subsequent unjust treatment of Christian converts and other minorities in Iran.” A court recently ruled to separate two-year-old Lydia from her adoptive parents because they are Christian converts. While Mr Raisi’s document states that the verdicts of the courts must be “reasoned, justified and documented”, as well as “unambiguous”, Mr Ahmadiniaz cites the counter-example of the prosecution of dozens of Christian converts in recent years while nowhere in the law does it state that converting to Christianity is a crime. “According to the legal understanding of crime and punishment Christian converts in Iran should not be arrested or punished,” he explains, “but unfortunately the judiciary, citing Articles 499and 500of the Islamic Penal Code, arrests these citizens and tries them unjustly on charges of ‘acting against national security’ and ‘propaganda against the regime’. “This is an example of how this new document and many other legal principles are easily violated in Iran. “The legal outworking of crime and punishment should be the main symbol of the rule of law. Article 167 of the constitution and Articles 2 and 10 of the Islamic Penal Code explicitly state that ‘any act that is contrary with the law shall be punishable’. “The judge is obliged to sentence individuals only within the framework of the law, and if the alleged offence is not a crime, he should not be tried. But unfortunately in Iran such fundamental principles are violated.” Harassment of family members According to Mr Raisi’s document, “exerting pressure on a detainee’s family is absolutely prohibited in all circumstances”, but there are countless examples in practice of where this principle has been violated in Iran, including the recent charges brought against the daughter of imprisoned rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, or the family of activist Masih Alinejad. Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad with his daughter, Mahsa, and son-in-law Nathan Roufegarbashi. Article18’s latest annual report also highlighted the rise in harassment of family members of Christian converts, such as in the case of Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad, whose daughter and son-in-law continue to mentor Christians inside Iran from their new home in the US. “Unfortunately such things have been repeatedly observed in many recent cases involving Christians, journalists and other political and ‘security’ prisoners,” Mr Ahmadiniaz explains. “For example, in the case of Lydia, the daughter of the Christian converts Sam and Maryam Khosravi in Bushehr, this principle was not only violated but also trampled on because the regime’s security agencies pressured the welfare organisation to take revenge on them in this way [because of the court case against them related to their membership of a house-church]. “This family has been oppressed because they are Christians, which is against all moral and legal principles,” he adds. Public confidence in the judiciary Mr Raisi’s document talks of the importance of ensuring public confidence in the judiciary through transparent public trials, but Mr Ahmadiniaz contends that Iranian courts “do not even follow the laws set by the Islamic Republic”. “In the first instance, a lawyer has no right to appear in court, except under Article 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code [which gives detainees the right to see a lawyer as soon as they are detained],” he says. “And even then, only lawyers approved by the head of the judiciary can represent those accused of political or ‘security’ cases, such as Christian converts, contrary to the principle of freedom of access to justice and the right to a choice of lawyer. “Meanwhile, the judges of the Revolutionary Courts have special immunity and, with their extrajudicial powers, never allow public trials in political or ‘security’ cases, such as those against Christians, except in special circumstances and for a specific purpose. “But in most cases they do not allow this, and therefore this judicial document has no effect in this important matter.” Mr Ahmadiniaz concludes: “The Iranian people have suffered greatly in these 41 years from the lack of provision of fair and just trials. The multiplicity of lawsuits in courts and tribunals, the large volume of cases to more than 15 million a year, distrust, the emergence of all kinds of violence, the decline in the level of tolerance of citizens, and so on – all this has caused people to have no confidence in the judiciary, and criticism of it has increased so that Ebrahim Raisi has issued this judicial document in an attempt to shift attention away from the terrible reality.”
Stockholm protesters gather in support of Iranian Christians 4 November 2020 News A group of Iranian Christians living in Sweden say they are planning monthly protests in support of Christians in Iran. The first protest took place on 25 October in one of Stockholm’s main squares, focusing specifically on the case of Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi, a Christian couple fighting for their right to maintain custody of their adopted two-year-old daughter. Sam and Maryam, from the southwestern Iranian city of Bushehr, recently lost their appeal against a judge’s decision to remove their daughter, Lydia, from their care because they are Christians and Lydia is considered Muslim. The case has sparked an international outcry, with hundreds of Iranian lawyers and activists calling on the head of the judiciary to overturn the decision. The protesters in Stockholm, of around 45 people including some Swedish Christians, held up a banner with the words “Stop violence against Christians in Iran”, “Christian lives matter” and the hashtag “#I_Am_A_Christian_Too”, as well as photographs of Sam, Maryam and Lydia and other persecuted Christians such as Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Ebrahim Firouzi, Joseph Shahbazian and Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi. One of the organisers, Amir Hossein Jaafari, told Article18 he had launched the campaign in the hope of fostering better collaboration between Christian activists – both Iranian and Swedish – living in the Stockholm area. “We intend to continue to protest against the deprivation of Christians’ rights, especially converts, by holding monthly gatherings in central Stockholm and inviting all Persian-speaking Christians, as well as Swedish Christians,” he said, “so that their voices and ours may be heard by the authorities and human rights groups in Sweden, across Europe and elsewhere.” Mr Jaafari added that the protests weren’t only about fighting for the rights of Christians, but also other oppressed groups in Iran, such as the Baha’is, Sufis and members of the LGBT community. “The Islamic Republic violates the rights of all those who don’t align with its views and those of Shia Islam,” he said, “and it doesn’t shy away from any inhumane acts – whether its against Baha’is, Sufi mystics, or the LGBT community. And even if these groups may not share our beliefs, they are our fellow human beings and compatriots, and it is our duty as Christians to be their voice.”
Tehran church with giant cross demolished 3 November 2020 News (Photo: Ali Khodaverdi / caoi.ir) A 70-year-old Adventist church in central Tehran has been demolished, along with the giant concrete cross on its facade. The 8m cross was the largest of its kind in the Iranian capital, and a rare prominent symbol of Christianity in the city. It was also situated at the crossroads of what is known locally as the “Crossroads of Religions”, being close also to the house of a Jewish rabbi and Armenian Christian cafe on Jomhouri Avenue. The church, which was built in 1949 and was one of two Adventist churches in the city, had been out of use for several years and in 2015 was completely gutted, including the destruction of two engravings of the Ten Commandments, which stood either side of the pulpit. The church before it was gutted, with the Ten Commandments written on either side of the pulpit. (Photo: safarnevis.com) The new owner had been seeking to redevelop the site for several years, but four years ago the national heritage organisation issued an order that special permission must be sought before the symbolic cross could be removed. The demolition finally went ahead on Saturday night, after the local mayor’s office granted permission. Last year, the destruction of another historic building next door to the church, which dated back to the Qajar dynasty, and the felling of trees in a 20,000 square-metre garden in the north of Tehran led to criticism by MPs of the failure of government body EIKO to protect historic sites. EIKO, which is under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader, was also incriminated in the confiscation last year of a church in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, and the removal of its cross. However, after a national and international outcry, the cross was restored and it was later claimed the church had never been confiscated and the cross was only removed for repairs. EIKO has taken ownership of several other Christian properties, including the Garden of Sharon retreat centre in Karaj, west of Tehran. Meanwhile, another organisation orchestrated by the Supreme Leader, the Mostazafan Foundation, has confiscated and repurposed other Christian properties including the bishop’s house in Isfahan – once the seat of the Anglican Church in Iran.
Saheb Fadaie returns to prison after short furlough 2 November 2020 News Prisoner of conscience Saheb Fadaie has returned to prison after a five-day furlough. Saheb, whose birth name is Zaman, has been in Tehran’s Evin Prison since his violent arrest in July 2018, serving what was initially a 10-year sentence, later reduced to six years. This was Saheb’s first furlough since his incarceration, despite appealing for compassionate leave at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic – while his case was subject to a retrial – and then later when he began to experience symptoms of the virus. Saheb also experienced ill health in December 2019, but was denied medical treatment despite suffering a constant fever for over a week, and hallucinating. Saheb was one of four converts given a 10-year sentence in July 2017 for his membership of a house-church in his home city of Rasht, northern Iran. One of the other men has since been released – Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi, whose sentence was reduced to two years during the retrial. However, Youhan is now serving two years in internal exile in the southwestern city of Borazjan and last month received 80 lashes as a result of a 2016 conviction for drinking wine with Communion. Saheb was also sentenced to the 80 lashes, as well as fellow convert Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh, and it is expected that, as in Youhan’s case, this punishment will be carried out following their release. Meanwhile, both Saheb and the fourth member of the group, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, also face two years’ internal exile following their release. Saheb was sentenced to an additional 18 months in prison in September 2018 for “spreading propaganda against the regime”, but this was incorporated into his reduced six-year sentence during the retrial.