Joseph Shahbazian released on bail after 54 days 25 August 2020 News Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian has been released on bail after nearly two months in detention. The 56-year-old was one of dozens of Christians arrested by Revolutionary Guards in a coordinated operation targeting homes and house-churches in Tehran, Karaj and Malayer on 30 June and 1 July. Last week Joseph’s family were finally able to see him for the first time since his arrest, but they remained unable to secure his bail due to the exorbitant amount demanded. However, on Saturday their pleas for a reduction were finally answered, and Joseph was released after his family submitted property deeds worth 2 billion tomans (around $100,000). This amount, though still the highest ever submitted for a Christian prisoner of conscience, was 1 billion tomans less than the 3 billion previously demanded, which the family had been unable to raise. In the days after Joseph’s arrest, his family were initially told the figure was the comparatively small sum of 300 million tomans (around $10,000), but when they arrived at the court with the amount in cash, they were told they must return with ten times as much. Joseph was one of only two Christians still detained following the 30 June and 1 July raids, during which at least 35 Christians were either interrogated or arrested. It remains unclear whether the other long-term detainee, a Christian woman convert named Malihe Nazari, 47, remains in prison, or whether her bail was also reduced. There have been concerns for Malihe’s health following a coronavirus outbreak at the Qarchak Women’s Prison where she is believed to have been detained.
Iran’s religious minority representatives: surrender to survive 21 August 2020 Analysis By Fred Petrossian “Religious minorities in the Islamic Republic have no restrictions; they enjoy full freedom and all economic and social rights, and those who say otherwise are false claimants of ‘human rights’ who distort the facts.” These recent remarks by Ara Shaverdian, one of two Armenian Christian representatives in the Iranian parliament, are just the latest in a long line of similar claims by religious-minority representatives, echoing those of the Iranian regime by denying human-rights violations and even the existence of prisoners of conscience. Armenians and Assyrian Christians, alongside Jews and Zoroastrians, are the only “recognised” minorities in Iran’s Constitution, and together share five MPs in the Iranian parliament, or Majlis. Other religious minorities, such as Baha’is, Yarsanis and Christian converts, are not recognised by the Islamic Republic and are deprived of basic rights. But, as Article18 has highlighted previously, even the “recognised” minorities are victims of an apartheid along religious lines. Why, then, have they also become propagandists of the Islamic Republic, denying cold, hard facts, such as the presence of Christian converts in Iran and persecution of the religious minorities they represent? Institutionalised harassment Persecution of religious minorities began from the very first days of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, from the assassination of Rev. Arastoo Sayyah in Shiraz, to the execution of Habibollah Elghanian – then president of the Tehran Jewish Society – and widespread repression of Baha’is. Harassment of minorities has not only failed to diminish in the past four decades, despite the promises of the founding father of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini; it has become institutionalised in the very fabric of the Islamic Republic, with laws that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that are even in conflict with the Iranian Constitution itself. The persecution of unrecognised minorities such as Baha’is and Christian converts is so severe that there is less talk about violations of the rights of the minorities “recognised” in the Constitution. But in the Islamic Republic, even Muslims, such as Sunnis and Dervishes, are the victims of discriminatory laws. Iranian-Canadian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo told Article18: “Of course, from the point of view of a man of common sense, discrimination of the ‘other’ is something that is never justified, whatever the reason. But in the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, scapegoating minorities is a way not to confront the ‘otherness’ of the ‘other’, whether they are Armenian, Jew or Baha’i, since the raison d’être of such a political system, which is walking on an ideological tightrope, is to have enemies, both inside and outside the country. “I believe, as in the case of Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany, the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot survive without an ideology that discriminates against the ‘other’.” In this religious apartheid, “recognised” non-Muslim Iranians, who were called “brothers” when fighting and dying together with Muslim Iranians in the war with Iraq, can be declared “infidels” and deprived of their rights during the division of inheritance. A Christian family can even be rendered homeless in a very short space of time if one member of the family becomes a Muslim as, according to the law of the Islamic Republic, that individual is therefore entitled to inherit everything, at the expense of all the others. Or consider employment: according to Article 28 of the Constitution, “Everyone has the right to choose any occupation he wishes, provided it does not infringe on the rights of others and is not contrary to Islam and public interests. It is the government’s duty to provide all citizens with employment opportunity, and to create equal conditions for obtaining employment, with consideration of society’s need for different professions.” But the reality is that many government agencies do not employ persons belonging to religious minorities. Meanwhile, the testimony in court even of the Armenian representative who speaks of minorities’ “equal rights” cannot be accepted against that of a Muslim. Then, after finishing his term in the Majlis, this representative will not be able to find a job in, say, the army or many other-state run institutions – for one simple reason: he is not Muslim. The institutions and activities of religious minorities are tightly controlled and must operate within the framework of government laws and demands. The same is true of representatives of religious minorities in parliament. Surrender to survive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huc3tkeH4qw&t=9s Members of parliament in Iran, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, were not elected in free elections – the extremely conservative Guardian Council filters candidates and checks if they are “loyal to the Islamic Republic, its leader, and the Revolution” – while all precautions are taken to protect the Islamic Republic and its interests above anything else. Representatives of religious minorities therefore find themselves almost forced to defend the interests and discourse of a government that has deprived them of many of their rights, in an attempt perhaps to regain those lost rights or to prevent their further deterioration. Probably the main achievement of these MPs was the approval in 2003 of a bill on equal “blood-money”, or diyeh, for Muslim and non-Muslim Iranians. But still the value of the blood of minorities in Iran’s religious apartheid seems to be lower, with the Islamic Penal Code differentiating between the punishments (qisas) for murderers, depending on whether or not the victim is a Muslim. For the government of the Islamic Republic, which has been repeatedly condemned by international organisations, including the United Nations, for human rights abuses, including against the rights of minorities, representatives of religious minorities have both internal and external propaganda use. In their interviews, they are the mouthpiece of the Islamic Republic’s narrative about minorities, denying any discriminatory policy against themselves, and even going so far as to claim Christian converts do not exist. In the religious apartheid created by the Islamic government, the survival of one group, in the judgment of these MPs, seems tied to the negation of another. The Islamic Republic has taken religious minority representatives on numerous official engagements around the world to accomplish a simple mission – in the words of one minority representative: “To reveal the conspiracies of the arrogant and ‘Zionist’ media against the honourable nation of Iran and the holy system of the Islamic Republic.” Roobik Ghahramanian, a fellow Iranian-Armenian journalist who now lives in Yerevan, told Article18: “The Iranian government uses the news about repairing and restoring few churches, in international conferences or fora, as examples that the Islamic Republic provides for minorities to enjoy their rights, but the rights of minorities in any society are not limited to repairing a few monuments. “Restrictions and discrimination have made religious-minority numbers decrease and forced them to flee Iran to such an extent that the number of Armenians in Iran today doesn’t even reach 20,000. Cities such as Shahin Shahr, Anzali, Rasht, Abadan and Gorgan no longer have any active Armenian churches, schools or associations. The same is now also true of Orumiyeh and Tabriz.” Parliament is the only place in the government structure where representatives of religious minorities can communicate and negotiate with government officials to preserve what is left for them. Decades of repression have institutionalised fear in religious minorities, and it seems that individuals in these communities, including members of parliament, see no choice but to surrender to the Islamic Republic, at the expense of denying facts and even the identities of their co-religionists. The Islamic Republic’s minority-phobic policies have reduced the population of Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians, according to some estimates, by a third over the past four decades, while at the same time the country’s population has doubled. These citizens have decided to emigrate and flee from the land where their ancestors lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, and died to defend its land alongside other citizens, because they have lived under the realities of the Islamic Republic and not the slogans of government officials, including their representatives. Fred Petrossian is a Brussels-based Iranian-Armenian journalist and researcher.
Iranian regime trying to ‘suffocate’ growth of Christianity – Mansour Borji 20 August 2020 Analysis Article18’s Mansour Borji yesterday explained during a live webinar how the Iranian regime is trying to “suffocate” the rapid growth of Christianity. As one of three guest speakers for a webinar hosted by the National Union for Democracy in Iran, Mr Borji highlighted the recent “acceleration” of arrests of Christians and “heavy” prison sentences of up to 15 years given to both converts and members of Iran’s “recognised” Christian minority. He cited the recent example of Victor Bet-Tamraz, an Iranian-Assyrian Christian pastor who just this past week was forced to flee Iran after he and his wife lost their appeals against a combined 15 years in prison. After a “brief pause” in arrests at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Borji said Iran has returned to “business as usual” and even accelerated its arrests, noting at least 85 arrests so far this year compared to 65 for the whole of 2019. In today's #NUFDIForum on the Islamic Republic's war of religious persecution, @mansourborji of @articleeighteen discussed the regime's active campaign against #Christian converts which paused briefly due to #COVID19 but has now passed 2018 levels.#Iran pic.twitter.com/JCkKQX8U46— NUFDI (@NUFDIran) August 19, 2020 “Christians are being sentenced to very heavy prison sentences – five, six, sometimes 10 or 15 years in prison,” Mr Borji explained. “We have exile sentences; we have harassment of family members; we have denial of education; we have people who have been denied employment. So all kinds of penalties to subdue this Christian community and stop their activities.” Added to this, Mr Borji said that through surveillance and harassment of Christians the Iranian regime has tried to “suffocate” the growth of Christianity by “eliminating effective leaders” and heavily restricting freedom of assembly as well as the publication of Christian literature and other forms of Christian education. Mr Borji also highlighted the regime’s hate-speech against Christians, by repeatedly labelling them as “Zionists”, which he called “incredibly inflammatory”. He concluded by noting how the regime’s crackdown targets anyone who doesn’t agree with the total authority of the Supreme Leader. “Since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, anybody who does not acknowledge this pillar of the Islamic regime is eliminated – whether it’s a political entity or it’s a religious group,” he said. ‘A whole nation is a prisoner of conscience’ Marjan Keypour, from the Alliance for the Rights of All Minorities (ARAM), explained that the reason behind the crackdown on house-churches and other places where likeminded minority groups meet is the regime’s “notion that your alternative views are threatening our beliefs; that if you have alternative views, you should either change them or just not talk about them”. “This is why [the regime] tries to keep their religious minority groups separate from one another,” she said. “And that is also a reason why they don’t want any kind of house-churches, private gatherings, any public forums or underground educational forum, etc, because they don’t want these ideas to go out, because it threatens their principles and their beliefs.” Hamid Gharagozloo, from the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR), called for members of the Iranian diaspora – of all sides – to join together, saying the regime’s atrocities are “not just [against] a specific group … It’s not just Gonabadi Sufis or Christians. It’s the whole nation that has been oppressed… The whole nation is a prisoner of conscience in their own country.” Mr Gharagozloo said he believed that even the regime’s categorisation of people into different “minorities” was an oppressive tactic. “I really, really do not like this term, ‘minority’,” he said. “That’s the tactic: they divide and conquer. And every minority has been labelled as an ‘agent of foreign powers, with the aim overthrowing the regime’.”
Iranian-Armenian Christian prisoner’s family see him for first time in seven weeks 20 August 2020 News The wife and son of an Iranian-Armenian Christian who remains in detention seven weeks after his arrest were able to visit him for the first time on Tuesday. Joseph Shahbazian was said to be in good health, though unshaven and therefore scruffier than usual in appearance. It remains unclear where the 56-year-old is being held, as he was driven, blindfolded, to the courthouse where they met and has been blindfolded every time he has been let out of his cell, which he shares with one other prisoner. Joseph remains in prison as his family have not yet been able to raise the 3 billion tomans (around $150,000) stipulated for his bail – the highest bail amount ever set for an Iranian Christian prisoner of conscience. They have raised 2.5 billion tomans, which they have asked the prison authorities to accept. However, they are yet to receive a judge’s decision. Joseph was arrested on the evening of 30 June, as part of a coordinated operation targeting the homes and house-churches of dozens of Christians in Tehran, Karaj and Malayer on 30 June and 1 July. Of the at least 35 Christians who were either interrogated or arrested, only Joseph and Malihe Nazari, a 47-year-old woman convert, remain detained. Malihe is believed to have been transferred to the notorious Qarchak women’s prison, where there are fears for her health given an outbreak of the coronavirus there and in other overcrowded prisons within Iran. Last week Article18 reported an outbreak at Evin Prison, where Christian convert Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh was among 12 prisoners to test positive for Covid-19. A further three converts – Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Yousef Nadarkhani and Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie – were not tested but showed symptoms of the virus, including a prolonged fever. Saheb and Yousef’s health has reportedly since improved, though Nasser remains unwell and there is no news on Yasser. Earlier this week, another Christian convert incarcerated in the same prison ward, Mohammadreza (Youhan) Omidi, was released after two years. However, he was informed he must report back to the prison authorities within 15 days to begin his exile in the southwestern city of Borazjan. Youhan has a wife and two teenage daughters and it is as yet unclear whether they would be permitted to join him in exile.
Iranian-Assyrian Christians flee but vow to continue legal battle 19 August 2020 News Article18 can now confirm that Iranian-Assyrian Christians Victor Bet-Tamraz and Shamiram Issavi fled Iran on Saturday, hours before Shamiram was due to begin her five-year prison sentence. The couple’s daughter, Dabrina, told Article18 that while she does not wish to disclose where they are, her parents are “safe and well” and determined to continue their legal battle against their combined 15-year prison sentence. “We continue to pray and hope for their sentences to be dropped,” she said. “We pray for justice both for my parents and for all the believers suffering in prisons.” A copy of Shamiram’s summons, dated 11 August 2020, telling her she has five days to report to the Shahid Moghadas Court to begin her sentence or otherwise face arrest. As Article18 reported on Sunday, Shamiram received an official summons last Tuesday, 11 August, to present herself at Tehran’s Shahid Moghadas Court, inside Evin Prison, within five days to begin her sentence, or face arrest. Three weeks earlier, on 19 July, Victor had received a telephone call from his lawyer, telling him that his three-year-long appeal against his 10-year prison sentence had failed. Therefore, facing prison, the couple, who are both in their mid-sixties, decided with heavy hearts to leave their homeland and continue their legal battle abroad. Dabrina added that they are determined to return to Iran if they can overturn the unjust prison sentences against them. Background It was during a Christmas celebration, way back in 2014, that the couple’s ordeal began. Victor was arrested, alongside two Christian converts, Amin Afshar-Naderi and Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, and held in solitary confinement for 65 days. The converts were eventually sentenced alongside their pastor and a third convert, Hadi Asgari, in July 2017. Left to right: Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Issavi, Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari. Kavian and Hadi were also given 10 years in prison; Amin was sentenced to 15. Article18 can now confirm that the three converts have also been notified by their lawyers that their appeals have been rejected. Shamiram received her prison sentence six months after her husband and the three converts, in January 2018. But it took another two and half years of numerous scheduled and postponed hearings until the appeals court finally ruled to reject the five Christians’ appeals.
Convert released after two years in prison 18 August 2020 News Iranian convert Mohammadreza (Youhan) Omidi has been released from prison after completing his reduced two-year sentence for “acting against national security by organising house-churches and promoting ‘Zionist’ Christianity”. Youhan, who is 47 years old, was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison at lunchtime today, and will tomorrow travel home to the northern city of Rasht to be reunited with his wife Maryam and teenage daughters Sara and Sandra. Youhan was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison, but his sentence was reduced to two years at a retrial in June. But although it was initially believed Youhan’s additional two-year sentence of internal exile in the southwestern city of Borazjan had been quashed, before he left prison he was told to report back in 15 days to receive his paperwork and begin his exile. Youhan with his wife Maryam and teenage daughters Sara and Sandra. It is not yet certain whether what he was told was the truth or just bluster, nor is it clear whether his wife and daughters would be permitted to join him in exile. Last month, having completed his two years in prison, there was also some confusion about whether his sentence had in fact been reduced only to six years, as was the case for his friends Yousef Nadarkhani and Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie. Then, after calls for his release, amidst a coronavirus outbreak at the prison ward where he was incarcerated, Youhan was finally released at around 1.30pm local time. Article18’s advocacy director gave this reaction: “Article18 welcomes the news of Youhan’s release, although we believe he was incarcerated unjustly and it is concerning to hear he has been told he must now endure two years’ exile. “We hope also to see the release of other prisoners of conscience who are imprisoned only for exercising their right to peaceful religious activities; we are especially concerned for those who are being kept in overcrowded, and now coronavirus-infested prisons.” Background Youhan was arrested alongside Yousef, Saheb, Yousef’s wife and fellow convert Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh in May 2016. The four men were charged with “acting against national security by organising house-churches and promoting ‘Zionist’ Christianity” and sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2017. A year later, after failing with their appeals, they were violently arrested at their homes, rather than being summoned to present themselves at the prison, as is the usual protocol. In October 2019, Yousef, Saheb and Youhan’s petitions for retrials were accepted, and in June 2020 their sentences were reduced. Yasser, who was last week one of 12 prisoners in Ward 8 of Evin Prison to test positive for Covid-19, was not part of the retrial bid. This article has been amended to include the latest details regarding Youhan’s additional sentence of two years in internal exile.
Iranian-Assyrian Christian couple lose appeals against combined 15 years in prison 16 August 2020 News An Iranian-Assyrian couple sentenced to a combined 15 years in prison for teaching Muslim converts about Christianity have finally been informed that their longstanding appeals have failed. It’s been more than three years since Victor Bet-Tamraz was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in July 2017, and over two and a half years since his wife, Shamiram, was given a five-year sentence, in January 2018. Their daughter, Dabrina, who now lives in Switzerland, has spoken repeatedly of her fears for her parents’ safety, should they be forced to endure time behind bars, especially given recent reports of a coronavirus outbreak in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Victor will celebrate his 66th birthday next month, and Shamiram turns 65 in December. Since their sentencing, the couple have been summoned to countless appeal hearings, only for them to be cancelled for a variety of reasons including failure to officially summon every defendant, the court being “too crowded”, and the assigning of a new judge to the case. Their last scheduled appeal hearing, on 1 June, was cancelled without excuse. Another seven weeks of uncertainty passed until, finally, on 19 July, Victor received a telephone call from his lawyer, informing him that his appeal had been rejected and no further hearing would take place. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the same was true in Shamiram’s case, though the couple feared it would be, given that their cases had been officially merged by the new judge, Ahmad Zargar, in February 2019. Finally, on Tuesday, 11 August, their worst fears were confirmed as Shamiram was summoned to Evin to begin her sentence. She has until today, Sunday 16 August, to turn herself in. How did it come to this? It was during a Christmas celebration, way back in 2014, that the couple’s ordeal began. Victor was arrested, alongside two Christian converts, Amin Afshar-Naderi and Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, and held in solitary confinement for 65 days. The converts were eventually sentenced alongside their pastor and a third convert, Hadi Asgari, in July 2017. Kavian and Hadi were also given 10 years in prison; Amin was sentenced to 15. It remains unclear whether they, too, will soon be summoned to prison, as the Christians are using different lawyers – one of whom, Amirsalar Davoudi, is currently in prison himself and was recently diagnosed with Covid-19 – and only Victor’s has received any word from the prison authorities. Indeed, Shamiram didn’t even know for sure that her sentence had been upheld until she received the summons on Tuesday. The case against the five Christians has dragged on for so long now, and been the subject of intense international scrutiny including a campaign by Amnesty International and pleas for clemency by, among others, US Vice President Mike Pence. But, once again, and in spite of its repeated claims that “no-one is put in prison only for his or her beliefs in Iran” – indeed, the constitution stipulates that “no-one should be molested or taken to task for simply holding a certain belief” – the Iranian regime continues to persecute and prosecute Christians only for meeting together to worship. This is just the latest cruel – and unjustifiable – example.
Former missionary hospital saved from demolition 13 August 2020 News Masih (“Messiah”) Hospital in Kermanshah was founded by Presbyterian missionaries. (Photo: IRNA) A hospital founded by Presbyterian missionaries nearly a century ago has regained its nationally-registered status, protecting it from potential demolition. Masih (“Messiah”) Hospital, in the western city of Kermanshah, was one of several hospitals and other institutions founded by missionaries in the early 1900s. The missionaries were forced out of Iran in the early days of the revolution, as anti-foreign feeling predominated, but many of the institutions they left behind, including Masih Hospital, continued to function under new, Muslim leadership. Masih Hospital continued to operate until the end of the last century, but for the two decades since it has stood empty, and seemed set for redevelopment until regaining its nationally-recognised status late last month. Commenting on the decision, the director general of the Kermanshah Cultural Heritage Office, Omid Ghaderi, said the “valuable” and “historic” building, which was designed by renowned Iranian-Armenian architect Markar Galstiants, would now be protected. The building had been the target of several acts of vandalism in recent years, including an arson attempt in March of this year.
Concerns for Christians after coronavirus outbreak at Evin Prison 11 August 2020 News Left to right: Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie, Yousef Nadarkhani, Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi, and Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh. There are concerns over the health of four Christian prisoners of conscience after one of them tested positive for Covid-19 while the three others are all displaying symptoms. Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh was one of 12 prisoners in Ward 8 of Tehran’s Evin Prison to test positive during a random test of 17 of the ward’s approximately 60 prisoners yesterday.Fellow Christian prisoners of conscience Yousef Nadarkhani, Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie and Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh were not among those tested, but they are all displaying symptoms. Nasser’s friends and family are particularly concerned about him, as he recently turned 59 years old and remains in his crowded cell despite being laid low with fever for nearly a week. The only medical assistance he has received is a few painkillers. The fifth Christian prisoner in Ward 8, Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi, has so far shown no symptoms, though he remains in the ward despite already serving the entirety of his recently reduced sentence. A further 10 Christian prisoners of conscience are being held in other wards of the notorious prison, though as yet there are no reports that any of them are unwell, although there are unconfirmed reports of infections and even a death in another Evin ward. The approximately 60 prisoners in Ward 8 sleep on bunk beds in rooms containing around 12-15 prisoners each, but all the prisoners mingle together; there are no social distancing rules. Indeed, when the ward is overcrowded, some prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor. Yesterday, over two dozen Ward 8 prisoners staged a sit-in to draw attention to the growing crisis there, inadequate medical care and insufficient protection measures. At the height of the pandemic in March, Iran released some 100,000 prisoners – among them six Christians – amidst fears that its overcrowded prisons could provide a hotbed for the virus to spread. But just five months on, the prisons are overcrowded again, and there are now more Christian prisoners of conscience than before the pandemic.
Iranian Christian convert wins award for religious freedom animation 10 August 2020 News An Iranian Christian convert has won the top prize in an international film competition* for her short animation depicting a fictional world in which there is no religious freedom. Maral Karaee’s “District 18” tells the story of a little girl who lives in a world where people of different colours are not allowed to mix. When the girl breaks the rules, she is fired from her job and made an outcast. But then she strays upon District 18, a land where people of all colours – or beliefs – are allowed to mingle. At the entrance to District 18, there is a sign with the words of article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”. Below, the creator, 38-year-old Maral Karaee, who now lives in Canada, tells Article18 about what motivated her to make District 18 and why religious freedom is important to her: Please can you tell us about your animation, and what messages you are trying to convey? The competition was actually about article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The goal was to show women in societies and also workplaces, and it was important to show how, if you give religious freedom, especially to women, how it can lead towards a better society and a better economical status for the society.That was the topic, and of course it was a bit challenging – how to show this in a three-minute animation? The first thing that came to my mind was colours, and I decided to put people in different colours. I chose four colours: red, green, yellow and blue. There is no reason why I chose these colours, but because I couldn’t show all the colours of the world in one short film, so I decided to use primary colours – red, yellow and blue – and then I also added green because I love green. So I am actually showing diversity, tolerance, even racism, trying to cover those topics by showing the different colours. And in the fictional world that I created, the tolerance is so low that they are not allowed to interact with each other in any way – not even able to help each other; not even able to try products of the other colour; not even allowed to interact with the animals of the other colour. They are even afraid of the animals of the other colour! So that’s the society that she’s living in. She’s not happy. On purpose, I didn’t use any background music in the first half of the film to give the feeling of emptiness. Also there are no trees or plants in this city and neither any children. And the rest of the people, I tried to give them a very neutral expression, almost no expression, but you see the sadness in the face of the girl, until she decides to help the little yellow mouse – because she remembers what happened to the green pigeon and doesn’t want the same thing to happen to the mouse. So she helps him, but as a consequence she gets fired, because she is now mixed with another colour. And that’s how she goes and finds District 18, and it’s a place where human rights and article 18 is celebrated. Was the girl just a fictional character, or was she shaped by any of your personal experiences, or those of others you know? I would say that the girl could be many of the women who are under these kinds of limitation. So I wouldn’t say that it’s exactly myself, but it can be any of those women. And were you thinking specifically about Iran while making your film, or more broadly other places? Because I come from Iran and because I know that society better than any other – I mean the limitations of that society – I would say that perhaps somehow I am trying to show Iran, but at the same time also a lot of other places in the Middle East and even worldwide. Are there any parallels with your own story, if you don’t mind sharing your story and how and when you became a Christian? Well, actually my conversion took place in the Netherlands. But I would say that I feel very privileged to have lived in free societies, democratic countries such as the Netherlands and now Canada, that I don’t have the fear of persecution, but I know that many of my brothers and sisters don’t have this privilege, and I always remember them. I know that there are so many that are now in jail because of their faith.So personally I didn’t experience persecution, though one thing that did happen to me is that I cannot go back to my country anymore. And that’s a result of my faith. Is there one particular limitation, among those you highlight, that most resonates with you? I would say being different, and feeling the pressure from the society – the fear of being judged by your loved ones, and the intolerance that you might receive. This is the biggest one that resonates with me regarding the girl in the movie: the fear of being neglected, rejected. Do you think the limitations faced by the girl in your story would be different for a boy? And, if so, how? That’s a very difficult question because nowadays we see that the persecution is for both boys and girls. I remember that very recently in the news, there was a boy, a very intelligent, smart boy who was banned from school, from continuing his education, just because he comes from a Baha’i family. There are so many boys and girls in the jails because of what they believe, but maybe for women the pressure is higher because they have always been considered as the second gender; they’ve always been looked down upon – and maybe especially in workplaces. Do you mean especially in Iran? Yeah, I’m thinking about Iran. Maybe I can give you an example, like sport. A boy can easily travel abroad as a professional sport player, but the limitations for women and girls are much, much higher because, when a girl wants to travel abroad for the Olympics, or any sports match, there is always the question of: what is she going to wear? That’s always a challenge for women and girls. Whether it’s swimming or wrestling, or even jogging, running, it’s always a question, and many times women have been banned because of it. Also, because of the discriminatory laws girls must officially get the permission to travel abroad from their father, and married women from their husbands. And what about when it comes to religious freedom? Do you think girls are especially vulnerable? Yes I do think that is the case; women are more under pressure. When I look to my home country, I see that, if I talk about Christians, for example, nowadays we have a lot of women leaders, but usually the case is that these women, they come to Christ, but when their family figure it out, they are rejected from their family. And at the same time, all religious minorities, especially Christians converts and Baha’is, face systematic state persecution. Girls are considered the second gender in Iran, and therefore they face double vulnerability. And maybe women are coming to Christ because they are more under pressure, generally speaking. Why is religious freedom important to you? By giving freedom of religion, you are not only opening the doors for peace in the society, but it can even help the economy. For example, in so many small businesses in Iran, religious minorities are banned or they shut down their business.But if there is religious freedom, it could even help the economy. For example, a Baha’i, Christian or dervish could easily be part of the economical growth of the society; it’s a benefit to everyone. But they’re cut off, they’re banned. Just like in education and a lot of things. By winning the competition, you have been invited to talk to business leaders in Tokyo ahead of next year’s Paralympic Games. What message will you take with you? I always wanted to make an impact that reflects my own faith, and to help others to experience religious freedom. But also I hope that maybe like with the issues of gender equality and Black Lives Matter that are trending now, I hope that leaders pay more attention to religious freedom globally and especially in workplaces. Is animation your full-time job? Over the past couple of years, I’ve been more focused on producing multimedia for Persian-speaking children. But now, after making this short animation, I would like to focus more on film-making. This is something that I always wanted to do but I never found the time. So this was a great opportunity. And actually, the main production of this animation happened during the lockdown. The pre-production was last year, but the main production was during the lockdown. And it happened that a few projects of mine got cancelled because of the pandemic, so I had full-time to sit and work on this movie, and I really enjoyed it – really, really enjoyed it; it was like art therapy to me! And when I finished it, it felt really good and my husband said that, by God’s grace, I managed to turn a mess into a message.And this is something that I want to continue; I want to be a film-maker. I am passionate about storytelling and, God-willing, this is what I want to continue. I’m already writing my next story! What’s it going to be about? Can you say? Maybe I’ll reveal a little bit of it! It’s actually going to be about these days, the pandemic. It’s about a boy, and some of the challenges that this little boy has during the pandemic time. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Well, one thing I’d like to add is that, as an artist, one of the biggest challenges is always to overcome your fear, and showcase your work – out there, to the public. Because you are always afraid of what people are going to think and how they’re going to judge your work, and the fear that they might find it very stupid. So maybe, if there are younger audiences who are going to read this interview, I would like to tell them not to be afraid and really to follow their heart and their passion. *The competition was co-sponsored by Empower Women Media and the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.