by Steve Dew-Jones | 6 Nov 2019 | Features
It’s now more than six years since Maryam Bateni Nia and her husband Reza Mousavi fled Iran, where Maryam faced a one-year jail sentence for her involvement in house-churches, to seek asylum in Turkey. And there they remain. Tired, fearful and devoid of hope. In those...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 5 Nov 2019 | News
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran has reiterated his concerns over the “disturbing” treatment of religious minorities in Iran, including Christian converts, who he says are “consistently persecuted”. Javaid Rehman, speaking at a press conference...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 4 Nov 2019 | News
An imprisoned Iranian Christian convert has written an open letter questioning why involvement in house-churches is an “action against national security”. “Today marks more than two years since I have been detained in prison for the fabricated charge of acting against...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 1 Nov 2019 | News
Rev Dr Mehrdad Fatehi made his appeal at a memorial service in London on 19 October. A senior pastor of the UK’s largest Iranian church has called on the Iranian government to ensure the “basic human rights” of Christian converts, as a...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 1 Nov 2019 | News
Eight Christians killed for their faith in Iran in the 40 years since the revolution were remembered at a memorial service in London last month. Anglican pastor Arastoo Sayyah was murdered just eight days after the revolution, while 2019 also marks 25 years since the...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 31 Oct 2019 | News
A 65-year-old convert to Christianity had his bail increased tenfold at a court hearing in Shiraz last week. Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad was charged with “propaganda against the state and insulting the sacred Iranian establishment” following his arrest at his home on 25...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 30 Oct 2019 | News
As the Iranian state propaganda machine continues to churn out the message that Christians in Iran enjoy equal rights and “full religious freedom”, Article18 talks to campaigner Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, who was specifically mentioned in a recent video by...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 28 Oct 2019 | News
Christian convert Ebrahim Firouzi has returned home after six years in prison for his religious activities, but he now faces two years’ exile in remote Sistan and Baluchestan province. Ebrahim, 32, has requested a few weeks at home first, though there is no guarantee...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 23 Oct 2019 | Reports
Christian converts seeking asylum in Germany are half as likely to succeed in their applications today as they were two years ago, according to this survey . by Christian charity Open Doors Germany reviewed the experiences of over 6,500 converts – 70% of whom are...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 18 Oct 2019 | News
Clockwise from top-left: Mohammad Vafadar, Kamal Naamanian, Hossein Kadivar, Khalil Dehghanpour, Behnam Akhlaghi, Mehdi Khatibi, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Shahrooz Eslamdoust and Abdolreza (Matthias) Ali-Haghnejad. (Middle East Concern) Nine converts have been sentenced to...
