The Islamic Republic of Iran has once again been named among the world’s worst violators of religious freedom (FoRB) by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In its latest annual report, released yesterday, the independent, bipartisan...
The “scapegoating” of Christians, especially after the 12-day war with Israel, is the focus of the 2026 joint annual report on “Rights Violations Against Christians in Iran”, published today by Article18 in partnership with Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern. The...
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on the US government to ensure that religious refugees from Iran are always accepted, as it recommended once again that Iran be re-designated a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for...
Christians in Iran were sentenced to a combined total of over 250 years in prison in 2024, a sixfold increase compared to 2023, our newly released annual report reveals. Ninety-six Christians were sentenced to a combined 263 years in prison last year, compared with 22...
The Georgian immigration authorities consistently refuse the asylum claims of Iranian Christians, despite their well-founded fears of persecution should they return home. That is the conclusion of a new joint report by Article18, CSW, Open Doors and Middle East...
Over five times as many Iranian Christian refugees were resettled in the United States last year than in 2020, according to a new report, but there are fears the trend may only be temporary. Two hundred and seventy-eight Iranian Christians were resettled in the 2024...
The Iranian authorities’ “systematic” and “targeted” dissemination of disinformation about religious minorities, including Christians, has been highlighted in a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The report, ‘Misinformation and...
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has once again recommended that Iran be re-designated a “Country of Particular Concern” for “engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom”. In its latest annual report, published...
Article18’s newly released annual report focuses on the many victims whose names and faces remain unknown, due to fear that publication of their cases may worsen their plight. “Despite a comparable number of Christians being arrested in 2023 as in previous years – 166...
Iranian Christians continue to be among the most affected by the significant drop in refugee resettlement to the United States in recent years, according to a new report. Just 112 Iranian Christians were resettled to the US last year, 95 per cent fewer than 2016, the...
There is a “critical need” for new resettlement opportunities and sponsorship programmes for Iranian Christian refugees in Turkey, says a new joint report published today on World Refugee Day by Article18 and three partner organisations. The report, which is a...
The “sharply deteriorated religious-freedom conditions” in Iran are the focus of the cover and introduction to the latest annual report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. The cover of the report, which was published yesterday, features a...
Article18 today releases its fifth joint annual report on "Rights Violations against Christians in Iran", with partner organisations CSW, Middle East Concern, and Open Doors International. The 25-page report is released on 19 February to coincide with the 44th...
Iran’s “misinformation campaign” against religious minorities, including Christian converts, is the focus of a new report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. The report, written by Shahin Milani of the US-based Iran Human Rights Documentation...
Christian converts are among the groups likely to face “heightened levels of repression” as a result of last year’s controversial amendments to the penal code, according to a new report. The report, ‘Iran: New Penal Code provisions as tools for further attacks on the...
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has once again recommended that the State Department re-designates Iran as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom”. In its latest...
Two rulings at the end of 2021 offered hope that one day Iranian Christians may no longer be charged with “acting against national security” for simply meeting together to worship in their homes. First, on 3 November, the Supreme Court ruled that nine Christians...
A new report by a Christian charity in Germany is highly critical of its immigration service for failing to recognise the testimony of pastors when considering the claims of asylum-seekers professing to be Christian converts, the majority of whom are Iranian....
The “systematic” oppression of Christian converts in Iran is the focus of a new in-depth report by the US-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Available in both English and Persian, the report highlights the myriad ways in which converts to Christianity have...
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has called on the US government to “prioritise” the resettlement of refugees who have experienced the “most egregious forms of religious persecution”, singling out “Iranian religious minorities” as an example. In...
In a year dominated by Covid-19, Iran still found time to persecute Christians in 2020, Article18’s annual report reveals. The report, published today in collaboration with Middle East Concern, Open Doors, and CSW, shows that 15 Christians were being held in Tehran’s...
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...
Article18 has submitted a new report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, highlighting the “multiple layers” of religious-freedom violations faced by Christians and other religious minorities in Iran. The report, released in collaboration with partner...
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has once again listed Iran among the world’s worst violators of religious freedom. In its latest annual report, USCIRF recommends that the US State Department re-designates Iran as one of 14 “Countries of...
Iranian Christians continued to suffer multiple violations of their right to freedom of religion of belief in 2019, Article18’s latest annual report reveals. The report, a collaboration with Open Doors International, CSW and Middle East Concern, names 25 Christians...
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...
Iran’s failure to uphold freedom of religion or belief is a central concern of the latest report by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. Javaid Rehman notes that, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is obliged...
Although Christians in the Armenian and Assyrian churches may practise their faith within strict confines, persecution in Iran is on the rise for others and most of it is targeted at Christians from a Muslim background and Protestant Christians. Just before...
Iran remains among the world’s most egregious violators of religious freedom, according to the 20th annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The report, released today, recommends that, as in every year since 1999, Iran be...
This report is the result of collaboration between Article18, Middle East Concern, CSW, and Open Doors International. Executive Summary During 2018, the Iranian Christian community, along with other religious minorities, continued to suffer multiple violations of...
Iran’s mistreatment of religious minorities, including the imprisonment of 37 converts to Christianity, is highlighted in the Iran chapter of Human Rights Watch’s latest annual World Report. “As of September 30, Iran has sentenced 37 Christians who...
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has cited Iran among the main contributing countries towards an “ongoing downward trend” in religious liberty worldwide and asked the State Department to re-designate Iran as a “country of particular concern”, or...
This joint report is the result of a follow-up enquiry into the persecution of Christians in Iran by the Christians in Parliament All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief. The report catalogues the abuses...
Article18 contributed to this 2013 report, which documents the rights violations of Protestant Christians in Iran within the context of international human rights laws and the rights guaranteed within Iran's own constitution. The comprehensive, 73-page report...
This joint report is the result of an enquiry into the persecution of Christians in Iran by the Christians in Parliament All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, whose work is to ensure that religious freedom...