Iran continues to deny religious freedom abuses, against all evidence 7 August 2020 Analysis Iranian-Armenian MP Ara Shaverdian (left) and Iran’s ambassador to Ireland, Masoud Eslami. (Photos: Mohabat News) Any observer of Iran’s multitudinous religious freedom abuses will be familiar with the repeated denials by regime officials. The latest include comments from Iran’s ambassador to Ireland, Masoud Eslami – responding to claims that Baha’is are targeted in Iran solely because of their beliefs – and the new Armenian representative to the Iranian Parliament, Ara Shaverdian, claiming, like many minority MPs before him, that religious minorities “live without any restrictions and with complete freedom”. The reasons for why a minority MP may make such remarks are complex and will be discussed in a future Article18 feature, while it is hardly surprising to see an official government employee such as the ambassador to Ireland defend the country’s reputation. Yet both comments fly in the face of all evidence. As Article18 and other rights groups have consistently highlighted, religious minorities such as Christians and Bahai’s are indeed targeted only because of their beliefs, and the outworking of those beliefs. Last month Article18 highlighted the case of seven Christian converts in Bushehr, whose charges related solely to their possession of Christian Bibles and other Christian artefacts. As Article18’s advocacy director, Mansour Borji, commented at the time: “Condemning these people to prison because of their possession of Bibles and Christian symbols is a clear demonstration that Iran’s Foreign Minister and others aren’t telling the truth when they say that ‘no-one is put in prison in Iran simply because of their beliefs’.” Earlier this week, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom highlighted the case of pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who is serving a six-year sentence (recently reduced from 10 years) solely because of his membership of a house church, and his pleas for his children not to be obliged to sit examinations for Islamic Studies – a request that continues to be denied because the state will not recognise converts to Christianity as Christians. Only on Saturday, four more Christian converts from Yousef’s city of Rasht received prison sentences of between two and five years in prison – again, only because they became Christians and joined a house-church, as official churches are off-limits to converts. These are just a few of the latest examples of Iran’s regular violations of religious freedom, but Article18 believes it is important to continually challenge the state rhetoric, as it persists in professing its provision of full religious freedom, against all evidence.
Prison sentences for Rasht converts 5 August 2020 News Ramin Hassanpour and his wife Kathrin Sajadpour, and Moslem Rahimi. Four Iranian converts have received prison sentences of between two and five years for “acting against national security” by belonging to a house-church and “spreading Zionist Christianity”. Ramin Hassanpour was given a five-year sentence, Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi four years, while there were two-year sentences for Sakine (Mehri) Behjati and Ramin’s wife Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour. The sentences were pronounced on Saturday, 1 August. The four were first arrested in February, though initially Mehri’s identity was not made public. In May, they spent a week in Lakan Prison in Rasht, having been unable to afford the 500 million toman bail ($30,000) set for them after the charges against them were read out at Branch 10 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht. They were eventually released on a reduced bail of 200 million tomans ($11,500). Ramin and Kathrin have two sons – one of whom is 16 years old and was forced to stay at home by himself while they were in prison, and the other just seven and therefore went to stay with his grandfather. They are part of the Rasht branch of the “Church of Iran”, a non-Trinitarian group, which has been especially targeted by the Iranian authorities. Reacting to the news, CSW’s chief executive Mervyn Thomas called it “the latest development in a relentless crackdown on specific religious groups in Iran”.
Unprecedented bail demand for Iranian-Armenian house-church leader 23 July 2020 News The family of an Iranian-Armenian house-church leader who remains in detention more than three weeks after his arrest have been told they must deposit 3 billion tomans (around $150,000) for his bail. This is twice the previous highest amount demanded to secure the release of a Christian prisoner of conscience. Joseph Shahbazian, 56, was arrested on the evening of Tuesday 30 June, as part of a coordinated operation targeting dozens of house-church members across three cities. Article18 can now confirm that at least 35 Christians were either arrested or interrogated following the coordinated raids on homes and house-churches in Tehran, Karaj and Malayer on 30 June and 1 July, a number that may eventually rise to above 50. Most were released in the days after, either without charge, or on bail after being charged with “acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity”. However, Joseph and a handful of Christian converts were held for longer. Three of the converts – Farhad Khazaee, 41, Salar Eshraghi Moghadam, who is around the same age, and Mina Khajavi, who is 57 years old – were recently released on bails of between 800 million and 1.2 billion tomans (between $40,000-60,000). Mina was held for 20 days in all, and blindfolded the whole time so that she didn’t know where she was being held. When she was finally released on Monday, Mina was put in a car and dropped off on an unknown Tehran street, without either phone or money, so that she had to borrow a phone from a passerby to contact her family and ask them to find her and bring her home. Last week, Mohabat News reported that the mother of another of the arrested converts had been detained after going to court to ask about her daughter. Both the mother, Masoumeh Ghasemi, and daughter, Somayeh Sadegh (known as Sonya), were later released on a combined bail of 800 million tomans. Meanwhile, Mohabat News reports that fellow convert Malihe Nazari, 47, remains in detention and that her bail has also been set at 3 billion tomans. The previous highest bail demand for a Christian prisoner of conscience was the 1.5 billion toman bail set for five converts from Rasht last year, after they insisted on their own choice of lawyer. Due to the depreciation of the Iranian rial, the value of the Rasht Christians’ bail was closer to 3 billion than it sounds, but the demand on Joseph and Malihe’s families is still exorbitant and unprecedented. Indeed, Joseph’s family were initially told the figure was ten times lower – 300 million tomans – which, unusually, they must pay in cash. Not possessing such an amount, they asked whether they could instead submit a property deed as a guarantee, as is common practice, but this request was denied. Then, having managed to cobble together the originally stated amount, they deposited it at the court, only to be called later and told the required amount was actually ten times higher. The family later returned to the court with two property deeds – one for the Shahbazian family home and the other belonging to Joseph’s elderly mother, who lives in the apartment below them. However, the total value of both properties, combined with the 300 million tomans they deposited in cash, is still 500 million short of the required bail, so the judge must now rule on whether or not to accept it. His verdict is due on Sunday.
Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad 16 July 2020 Case Studies Case referenced by Article 18, Middle East Concern, The Christian Post, World Watch Monitor, Anglican Ink, Open Doors, International Christian Concern, CBN, Jerusalem Post Summary Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad initially faced four charges after his arrest on 25 January 2019: “propaganda against the state”, “apostasy”, “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs” and “membership of a group hostile to the regime”. The charge of apostasy was later dropped, but he was convicted of the other three charges. The charge of “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs” was overturned on appeal, but the other two convictions were upheld. Case in full Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad was arrested at his home in Shiraz on 25 January 2019 by plainclothes officers claiming to be from the Ministry of Intelligence, who rang his doorbell at 3am, then slapped him in the face when he answered, before dragging him away. They took him back to his home five hours later to search his belongings and confiscate many of his personal items, including his laptop, mobile phone, Christian books and daily notebook. The officials said that they had a search warrant for his premises, but did not allow Esmaeil to see it. After he had been taken away, family members attempted to contact the authorities to find out where he had been taken. They were told that Esmaeil was not being held in any of their detention centres, so they should register him as a missing person. Esmaeil was eventually able to contact his family, but only to report that he did not know where he was being held, nor on what charges. He was released on 31 January 2019 on bail of 10 million tomans (around $800). The authorities initially demanded five times more but agreed to the smaller sum after he protested. During his detention, Esmaeil was given little food, held in solitary confinement next to a noisy ventilator that made it impossible to sleep, and interrogated for 14 hours a day. He was insulted harshly, repeatedly ordered to revert to Islam, and asked why he had evangelised – even though his interrogators found no evidence of their claims during a thorough search of his house and belongings. At a Revolutionary Court hearing in Shiraz on 22 October 2019, the judge asked Esmaeil two questions: whether he was an apostate; and whether he had insulted Islam. He denied both, saying that he had never insulted Islam and that different ayatollahs had different opinions over the question of apostasy. In response, the judge decreed that his bail would be increased from 10 million to 100 million tomans (around $9,000). When Esmaeil said he had no way of paying such an amount, the judge said a friend could act as a guarantor. Two of Esmaeil’s friends then provided payslips to the court as proof that they could cover the amount if required. Esmaeil was summoned to court again on the morning of 30 October, but the hearing was later postponed to the morning of Saturday, 2 November. At the 2 November hearing, the judge ruled that the case against him regarding “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” was “applicable”, because he had created a Telegram channel in which he had “promoted evangelical Christianity”. However, the charge of apostasy was dropped. A hearing on 8 January 2020 at Branch 105 of the Civil Court in Shiraz focused solely on the charge of “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs in cyberspace”, for which Esmaeil was found guilty because he had reacted with a smiley-face emoji to a message that had been sent to his phone, which poked fun at the ruling Iranian clerics. On 11 January 2020, Esmaeil was sentenced to three years in prison under Article 513 of the Islamic Penal Code, which provides for a punishment of between one and five years in prison. Article18’s advocacy director, Mansour Borji, said the sentence was a “disproportionate reaction to something so ordinary. “The other charges that Esmaeil is facing, as well as the now-quashed charge of apostasy, related to his conversion to Christianity. This may reveal the real reason why he’s been charged for something that most ordinary Iranians do on a daily basis.” Esmaeil’s defence team had pointed out that he was not even the originator of the joke. Esmaeil’s family were initially hopeful of better news, after the charges of apostasy, for which he could have faced the death sentence, were dropped. After another court hearing at a Revolutionary Court on 17 February 2020, Esmaeil was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for “membership of a group hostile to the regime”, under Article 499 of the Islamic Penal Code, which provides for three months to five years’ imprisonment. The court document detailed that the “hostile” group in question espoused “Evangelical Zionist Christianity”. Article18’s Mansour Borji said that given that Esmaeil is a member of the Anglican Church, this shows that “such blanket labelling is inaccurately applied to any Christian arrested for their religious activities, as the revolutionary courts try to justify their violations of religious freedom”. The judge added that his ruling was based on a report by the intelligence branch of Iran’s military, though no details were given of what this evidence entailed. Mr Borji noted that it was “odd and somewhat rare” that the military were involved in a case relating to a civilian with no links to the military. On 9 May 2020, the judge at the 1st Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, Seyed Mahmood Sadati, reviewed his initial verdict, saying he had been unhappy with it and wanted to make some “corrections”, giving hope to Esmaeil and his family that the judgment may be quashed. However, a week later Esmaeil was informed that he had been re-convicted of membership of a “Zionist Evangelical Christian” group “hostile to the regime” – despite the protestations of his lawyer, Farshid Rofoogaran, that Esmaeil had “in no way, shape or form been a member of any hostile organisation” – and convicted of the additional charge of “propaganda against the state”. In his ruling, Judge Sadati referred to the findings of the intelligence agents of Iranian armed forces, who were responsible for his arrest, and Esmaeil’s alleged “admission” of guilt – for acknowledging that a Bible verse from the book of Philippians had been sent to his phone by a Christian satellite TV channel. A printout of the verse was shown to him in the court, which he acknowledged, after which he was dismissed from the room. His lawyer, Mr Rofoogaran, proceeded to argue that the court had not been presented “with one single reason, piece of evidence or document that would justify the verdict issued”. He added that the indictment was “very vague” and “lacked any supporting statement”, and that Esmaeil’s only “crime” had been to receive a message from a Christian satellite television channel; he hadn’t even forwarded it to anyone. “Even if those groups that have Telegram or WhatsApp channels are accepted as ‘hostile’,” Mr Rofoogaran said, “receiving messages without forwarding them to anyone else does not constitute membership of that organisation.” Mr Rofoogaran went on to criticise the way the case had been handled, noting that the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” had not been observed. Article18’s Mansour Borji pointed out that “Esmaeil’s arrest took place without any prior evidence being found against him. Instead, the intelligence agents went through his personal belongings and tried to dig up evidence against him. The charge that didn’t stick they had to drop; the charges that remain have no legal basis.” On 5 July 2020, Esmaeil’s three-year sentence for “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs” was overturned on appeal. However, six days later Esmaeil was informed that he had lost his appeals against the two remaining prison sentences and therefore faces at least two years in prison. Esmaeil converted to Christianity nearly 40 years ago and has since been regularly harassed by Iran’s security forces, despite Iran’s own constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran ratified in 1975, guaranteeing freedom of religion, including the right to hold a religion of one’s choosing and to propagate that religion. Around 10 years after Esmaeil’s conversion, an attempt was made on his life, which he only narrowly survived. Esmaeil’s late wife, Mahvash, also converted to Christianity, in 1999, but when she died, in 2013, Esmaeil was prevented from burying her in a Christian cemetery, despite a letter from the head of the Anglican Church in Iran, Bishop Azad Marshall, stating that Mahvash was a “committed member of the Anglican Church in Iran, who had been baptised and confirmed”. Instead, her body was taken to a Muslim cemetery, where she was buried following a Muslim ceremony in the presence of security guards, with only five family members allowed to attend. Mahvash had also been interrogated on numerous occasions during the first years after her husband’s conversion. She was also fired from her job. In August 2019, Esmaeil and Mahvash’s daughter, Mahsa, who is now living as a refugee in the USA with her husband Nathan, told Article18 she believed her father was being targeted as a result of her and her husband’s work as pastors ministering to Iranians over the Internet. Authorisation Article18 has been authorised by Esmaeil to conduct advocacy on his behalf. The charges against him are entirely unfounded and void of any legal basis. They are instead a reflection of the Islamic Republic’s security-oriented approach towards religious minorities. He has committed no crime, nor is he seeking to act in any way against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The violations against his religious freedom and human rights is solely a result of exercising his Christian faith. Recommendations Article18 petitions the international community to: Urge the Iranian government to uphold its obligations under its own constitution and international law, including provisions for freedom of religion or belief contained within the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party, without reservation. Call for Esmaeil’s immediate acquittal. Call for the swift application of due process in the cases of all who are detained and/or awaiting charges, trials, sentences or appeal hearings on account of their Christian faith and activities. Support Professor Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, in monitoring Iran’s compliance with international human rights standards, including freedom of religion or belief. Background There has been a significant increase in human rights violations in Iran in recent years, and particularly in the persecution of religious minorities, principally of Christians from the Iranian house-church movement. Ethnic Christian communities (Assyrian and Armenian) are permitted a degree of freedom to worship, although it is illegal for these churches to conduct services in Persian (the national language of Iran and the common language of converts). Bibles and other Christian literature are also illegal in Persian and those found in possession of such materials, especially in sufficient quantities for distribution, can expect severe treatment and prison sentences. Therefore, the growing community of Christian converts are not permitted to attend recognised churches and they have to gather for worship in secret house-churches and risk arrest and imprisonment. In the past few years, a number of Christians have been handed down sentences of between 10 and 15 years, charged with offences such as “acting against national security”. These political charges are used to help avoid international outcry at religiously motivated charges such as apostasy. Those detained or charged often have to obtain and hand over exorbitant amounts for bail, which are often forfeited as some choose to flee the country in the knowledge that they are very unlikely to receive a fair trial and just verdict. Those awaiting trial who flee the country are tried in absentia. Many will face a gruelling legal process, and until their case is heard, which could take several years, their lives are in limbo. The majority of the Christians arrested in the last few years have been released, either after finishing their prison sentences or temporarily released on bail with severe warnings and threats against any further Christian activity. Once released, they are closely monitored, and risk re-arrest and imprisonment if they engage, or are suspected of engaging, in any Christian activity. Iran is 9th on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. Article18’s latest annual report names 25 Christians arrested in 2019 and 13 Christians who received sentences of between four months and five years in prison for alleged “actions against national security”. Criminal cases against many other Christians went unreported, either because no-one raised awareness – arresting authorities frequently issue threats to prevent publicity – or because those involved requested confidentiality. At least 17 Christians were imprisoned at the end of 2019, all serving sentences based on national security-related charges.
Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad faces prison as final appeals fail 16 July 2020 News Iranian Christian convert Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad has lost his appeal against the two remaining prison sentences issued to him earlier this year. Esmaeil, who is 65 years old and an official member of the Anglican Church, initially received three sentences amounting to a total of six years in prison. Esmaeil was informed on Sunday that the first sentence – of three years in prison for “insulting the sacred” – had been overturned on appeal. But yesterday he was told that the other two sentences – for “propaganda against the state” and “membership of a group hostile to the regime” – had been upheld. The only change to the verdict, issued by Judge Jamshid Kashkouli at the 17th Branch of the appeal court in Shiraz, was a reduction of the sentence for the alleged offence of “propaganda against the state”, in recognition of a recent amendment to the law, such that the maximum jail term that can be issued is now seven months and 31 days. However, in reality this reduction is likely to make little difference to Esmaeil, as in Revolutionary Court cases where there is more than one sentence, the defendant is usually mandated to serve only the longer sentence – in this case the two-year sentence for “membership of a hostile group”. Article18’s Mansour Borji commented after Esmaeil’s initial sentencing that, given that he is a member of the Anglican Church, this particular charge shows that “such blanket labelling is inaccurately applied to any Christian arrested for their religious activities, as the revolutionary courts try to justify their violations of religious freedom”. In a recent video interview with Article18, Esmaeil’s daughter, Mahsa, who now lives in the United States, told Article18 of her concerns should her father lose his appeal, explaining that he is the sole carer for her brother, who is not well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOgvn5n9OaA “One of mine and my family’s concerns is that if these sentences are enforced and my father is imprisoned, given his age and physical condition, first of all what is going to happen to him, and also what will be the consequences for my brother, for whom my father is his only support,” she said. Mahsa added that she was “shocked” at the sentences in the first place “because my father really didn’t do anything – he didn’t do anything illegal or commit any crime. He’s just a Christian who lives out his faith, so we expected his innocence to be so clear that the judge would acquit him”. Responding to the specific charges against him, Mahsa added: “My father is 65 years old, so he has nearly a whole lifetime behind him and in all the years that I have known him, as his daughter, I have never seen him do anything to oppose the regime. He has always respected different religions, always respected the law, and never did anything against the regime, nor has he ever been a member of any group that was against the regime, so I was really surprised. What kind of policy or law is it that condemns someone like my father to prison for doing nothing more than being a Christian?” Having failed with his appeal, Esmaeil can now expect to be summoned to serve his sentence any day. His only remaining hope is a further retrial, though even that would not prevent his summons to prison.
Converts charged with acting against national security by promoting ‘Zionist Christianity’ 15 July 2020 News At least 10 of the more than a dozen Christian converts arrested two weeks ago in raids on their homes and house-churches have been charged with “acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity”. Article18 reported earlier this month that at least 13 Christians were arrested in a coordinated operation on the evening of Tuesday 30 June and the morning of Wednesday 1 July in Tehran, its sister city Karaj, and Malayer, 400km southwest of Tehran. The number of confirmed arrests has now risen to 17. Of those arrested, eight have been released on bail, four remain detained, one has been released without charge, and another four have been released pending a decision on their case. Families of the detained Christians have been anxiously asking for an update about them, but despite some family members going to Evin Prison and the local courts on a daily basis to find out about the whereabouts and wellbeing of their loved ones, they have not even been afforded the usual opportunity to have short telephone calls with them. One of those released on bail was 36-year-old Somayeh (Sonya) Sadegh, who Mohabat News reports is a sports coach who runs a women’s gym in western Tehran and belongs to the women’s only house-church known as “Yek Delaan”, or “One Heart”, which has dozens of mostly middle-aged members. She was released on bail of 500 million tomans (around $23,000) last Thursday, after nine days in detention. Of the other arrested Christians, 12 have been named: in western Tehran’s Yaftabad district, Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian and Christian converts named Reza, Salar, and elderly sisters Mina and Maryam; in separate raids on their homes in Tehran and Karaj, two men named Farhad, another named Arash, and a woman named Malihe Nazari; and, finally, three more Christian converts in Malayer named Sohrab, Ebrahim and Yasser. The other four have yet to be named. Following the arrests, intelligence agents belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps summoned many contacts of the Christians for questioning, including some who had not been in contact with them for years.
Iran’s Guardian Council orders amendments to bill that threatens religious minorities 14 July 2020 News Iran’s Guardian Council must approve every bill proposed by parliament. (Photo: shora-gc.ir) Iran’s Guardian Council has asked for amendments to be made to a proposed parliamentary bill that threatens to facilitate the further repression of religious minorities. As Article18 reported last month, Iran’s parliament has proposed amendments to articles 499 and 500 of the Islamic Penal Code such that those found guilty of “deviant psychological manipulation” or “propaganda contrary to Islam”, whether in the “real or virtual sphere”, can be labelled as “sects” and punished with imprisonment, flogging, fines, or even the death penalty. Reacting to the bill, human rights lawyer Hossein Ahmadiniaz, whose clients have included the jailed Christian convert Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, told Article18 the law would “facilitate the repression and punishment of Christian converts and others belonging to unrecognised religious groups”. But the Guardian Council, which must approve all parliamentary bills, has returned the bill to the parliament, seeking eight clarifications, the majority of which relate to overly “ambiguous” language. Article18’s advocacy director Mansour Borji explained: “The Guardian Council, mostly comprised of Islamic jurists and lawyers, could have seen that this proposed amendment lacked the basic principles of legislation.” He added: “The bill was so ambiguous and left definitions so wide open that judges could have violated people’s right to freedom of expression and belief by categorising them under this new amendment as ‘devious, unlawful acts’, which would go against all national and international commitments Iran has to safeguard those rights.” However, Mr Borji warned that the bill is still likely to return in a few months’ time, in a different, “perhaps more minimal form, but still the purpose of this legislation, which was tightening control, could be served by using a more legal language that would have it pass through the parliament and the Guardian Council. “Therefore, we shouldn’t let our guards down and relax, but must monitor the behaviour of the lawmakers and policymakers in Iran, who show an increasing pattern of abuse of religious freedom. Because such things are not rare and can happen at anytime, with an overwhelmingly conservative parliament and a government that on a daily basis is reported to have violated human rights. Therefore it calls for vigilance from all people involved in the field of preserving and promoting human rights.”
97% reduction in Iranian Christian refugee arrivals in US since 2015 – report 13 July 2020 News A joint report by Christian charities World Relief and Open Doors has highlighted the dramatic reduction in refugee arrivals to the US from countries where Christians are most persecuted. The report, released on Friday, focuses specifically on refugee arrivals from countries on Open Doors’ annual World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted, including Iran, which was ranked 9th on the 2020 list. The report notes that overall refugee arrivals from the 50 World Watch List countries have dropped sharply in the past five years – from more than 18,000 in 2015 to fewer than 950 so far this year. And of all the countries, it is Iran that has seen the sharpest decline, with a 97% drop in Christian refugee arrivals since 2015, ahead of a 95% drop for Iraqi Christian refugees and 94% for Burmese Christians. The report highlights the example of one Iranian Christian convert, who is given the name “Mana”. Mana’s story closely resembles those of dozens of other Christians that Article18 has spoken to. After her conversion to Christianity, Mana worshipped together with other Christians in a house-church, as open churches are off-limits to converts. When the house-church, which she hosted, was raided, Mana’s oldest son was imprisoned and “Mana concluded that fleeing Iran was necessary to keep herself and her younger son safe”. But this is where Mana and her younger son’s story deviates sharply from the experience of many Iranian Christian converts today, for after two and a half years of living in “challenging conditions” in Turkey, Mana and her son were accepted for resettlement in the US. And, as the report notes, the reality for most Iranian Christian refugees today is that they will not be resettled – or at least not quickly, and usually not in the United States. The report notes that “Mana now fears for her older son, who was released from jail in Iran and also escaped to Turkey, where he now lives as a refugee. “His odds of resettlement to the U.S. are slim, as just 25 Iranian Christians have been resettled to the U.S. as refugees in the first half of 2020.” Indeed, as the story concludes, “The U.S. is on track to receive 97 percent fewer Iranian Christian refugees this year than when Mana was resettled in 2015.” In a joint letter published at the beginning of the report, World Relief President Scott Arbeiter, CEO Tim Breene, and Open Doors USA CEO David Curry write: “Historically – at least at our noblest moments – the U.S. has stood as a beacon of safety and freedom for those persecuted for their faith, including many persecuted Christians. The current administration has recently made unprecedented levels of assistance available to religious minorities worldwide. In addition, a new category established in the fiscal year 2020 refugee resettlement program prioritizes religious minorities to be resettled to the United States. “However, as the statistics and stories within this report demonstrate, the number of persecuted Christians to whom protection is available through the U.S. refugee resettlement program and the application of asylum laws has still been dramatically curtailed. With further restrictions on the near horizon, our aim with this report is to raise awareness and call the American Church both to prayer and advocacy for the persecuted. We also hope Congress and the administration will strengthen U.S. commitment to the persecuted through the refugee and asylum processes.”
Christian convert, 65, overturns first of three jail sentences on appeal 13 July 2020 News Sixty-five-year-old Iranian Christian convert Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad has had his three-year jail sentence for “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs” overturned on appeal. Esmaeil was informed of the verdict yesterday by his lawyer, Farshid Roofoogaran. In the verdict, dated 5 July, the judge at the 17th Branch of the appeal court in Shiraz, Jamshid Kashkouli, accepted Mr Roofoogaran’s defence that Esmaeil had not been the originator of a social media joke insulting Islamic clerics – he had only responded with a smiley face emoji – and that anyway the clerics themselves are not considered “sacred” in Islam. Esmaeil is still awaiting the result of separate appeals against two further jail sentences – of one and two years, respectively – for “propaganda against the state” and membership of a “Zionist Evangelical Christian” group “hostile to the regime”. (Esmaeil is an Anglican Church member.) Background Esmaeil received his three-year sentence on 11 January, following a hearing on 8 January at Branch 105 of the Civil Court in Shiraz. He was sentenced under Article 513 of the Islamic Penal Code, which provides for a punishment of between one and five years in prison. On 17 February, Esmaeil was sentenced by a Revolutionary Court to two years in prison for “membership of a group hostile to the regime”, under Article 499 of the Islamic Penal Code, which provides for three months to five years’ imprisonment. Then on 9 May the judge at the 1st Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, Seyed Mahmood Sadati, amended his initial verdict, upholding the conviction for membership of a “Zionist Evangelical Christian” group “hostile to the regime” and adding a new charge of “propaganda against the state”, for which he was given a separate one-year jail sentence. Having overturned the first of his three prison sentences, Esmaeil and his family are now anxiously awaiting the result of his appeals against the two remaining sentences.
Closed Doors: Persecuted Christians and the US Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Processes 13 July 2020 Reports A joint report by Christian charities World Relief and Open Doors has highlighted the dramatic reduction in refugee arrivals to the US from countries where Christians are most persecuted. The report, released on Friday, focuses specifically on refugee arrivals from countries on Open Doors’ annual World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted, including Iran, which was ranked 9th on the 2020 list. The report notes that overall refugee arrivals from the 50 World Watch List countries have dropped sharply in the past five years – from more than 18,000 in 2015 to fewer than 950 so far this year. And of all the countries, it is Iran that has seen the sharpest decline, with a 97% drop in Christian refugee arrivals since 2015, ahead of a 95% drop for Iraqi Christian refugees and 94% for Burmese Christians. The report highlights the example of one Iranian Christian convert, who is given the name “Mana”. Mana’s story closely resembles those of dozens of other Christians that Article18 has spoken to. After her conversion to Christianity, Mana worshipped together with other Christians in a house-church, as open churches are off-limits to converts. When the house-church, which she hosted, was raided, Mana’s oldest son was imprisoned and “Mana concluded that fleeing Iran was necessary to keep herself and her younger son safe”. But this is where Mana and her younger son’s story deviates sharply from the experience of many Iranian Christian converts today, for after two and a half years of living in “challenging conditions” in Turkey, Mana and her son were accepted for resettlement in the US. And, as the report notes, the reality for most Iranian Christian refugees today is that they will not be resettled – or at least not quickly, and usually not in the United States. The report notes that “Mana now fears for her older son, who was released from jail in Iran and also escaped to Turkey, where he now lives as a refugee. “His odds of resettlement to the U.S. are slim, as just 25 Iranian Christians have been resettled to the U.S. as refugees in the first half of 2020.” Indeed, as the story concludes, “The U.S. is on track to receive 97 percent fewer Iranian Christian refugees this year than when Mana was resettled in 2015.” In a joint letter published at the beginning of the report, World Relief President Scott Arbeiter, CEO Tim Breene, and Open Doors USA CEO David Curry write: “Historically – at least at our noblest moments – the U.S. has stood as a beacon of safety and freedom for those persecuted for their faith, including many persecuted Christians. The current administration has recently made unprecedented levels of assistance available to religious minorities worldwide. In addition, a new category established in the fiscal year 2020 refugee resettlement program prioritizes religious minorities to be resettled to the United States. “However, as the statistics and stories within this report demonstrate, the number of persecuted Christians to whom protection is available through the U.S. refugee resettlement program and the application of asylum laws has still been dramatically curtailed. With further restrictions on the near horizon, our aim with this report is to raise awareness and call the American Church both to prayer and advocacy for the persecuted. We also hope Congress and the administration will strengthen U.S. commitment to the persecuted through the refugee and asylum processes.”