Iran--Christian Persecution in Iran

Middle East: Iran Country Report Last Updated: May 2003 Code: A-1, 2, 3 (Click here for a code description.)
	(Click here for a list of ICC articles on Iran.) List of Articles Last Updated: January 14, 2003

Religious Atmosphere: 99% of this country's people are Shi’ite Muslims. 0.5% are Baha'i, 0.1% Farsi-speaking Jews, and 0.4% Christian. A small minority also practices Zoroastrianism. Most of the Christians are ethnic Armenians and Assyrians.

Extremist Groups:

• Mojahadin-e-Khaleq (MEK)--This political opposition group has been implicated in several violent acts against Christians. As an armed group, it has been heavily oppressed by the government.

Government:

• The constitution claims that Islam is the official religion, in particular, the Ja'fari Shi'ism sect of Islam. Other sects of Islam and other religious minorities are under multiple restrictions.
• Members of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism are considered protected minorities and are allowed to elect representatives to fill reserved parliamentary seats.

• While members of religious minorities are supposedly granted the freedom to practice their religion and instruct their children, government interference with school administration and government harassment are common.
• All activity of religious minorities are monitored by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance.
• Laws stipulate penalties for government workers who don't follow Islamic principles and rules.

• The printing of Christian literature, including church bulletins and church newsletters, is prohibited.
• Non-Muslims are not allowed to proselytize. Muslims who convert are considered apostates and are subject to the death penalty.

• Most evangelical churches have been closed or have been restricted to only conducting services in Armenian or Assyrian. As a result, many churches have gone underground. The government is actively seeking out these underground churches and punishes all those involved.
• Many pastors report being under constant surveillance. Many are also pressured into signing documents that say they will not proselytize Muslims or allow them to attend church services.

Recent Actions:

• April 2003 - The cleric-based Guardian Council has rejected a proposed bill that would make the diyeh (blood price) for a non-Muslim equal to that of a Muslim. Under shariah the diyeh is the price of a man's life measured in livestock. Currently a non-Muslim is considered to be worth only 1/12 that of a Muslim. (ANS/Barnabas Fund)
     
• August 29, 2002 - Mr. Mahmoud Erfani (see May 2001 below) received notice from the Canadian Embassy that his family's application for asylum had been approved despite being refused three times by the UNHCR. The Canadian government initially turned down their asylum request, but after further documentation of persecution was presented, the family was accepted. (Compass)
     
• May 2001 – Mr. Mahmoud Erfani and his wife, Atefeh along with their family of three daughters fled from Iran into Turkey on July 1, 1999, after being interrogated intensely in a series of one hour abductions by "savama" secret police in 1998 and being evicted from their home on their former Presbyterian church site on March 17, 1999. Christian converts from Islam, they fled Iran into Turkey when they heard of the arrest and questioning of other converts. Erfani and his family have twice been refused for United Nations refugee status, and without sponsorship from an Immigrant friendly nation like Canada or Australia, deportation is imminent. Refusal of refugee status in Turkey is common for Iranian immigrants.
      
• March 2001 – A Muslim convert identified only as R.B. was tortured for three weeks after being detained by paramilitary forces known as the basijis. After being released he suffered from internal bleeding and could not walk or talk. His family went into hiding in hopes of leaving Iran. They have not been heard from since. (ICI)
     
• October 1999 – A Muslim convert to Christianity Mr. M.A. (name withheld for security) was arrested by government secret service agents on charges of apostasy. He was held for four days during which time he was severely beaten and lashed 99 times. He was deprived of food for at least one day and had limited access to a toilet. M.A. was eventually hospitalized for injured sustained during the detention. He later escaped Iran on February 29, 2000. (ICI)
     
• February 1999 – Mr. S. Dejbod was forced into bankruptcy by the Security Forces of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Army in 1998-1999 after it was discovered that he was an apostate. (ICI)
    
• January 1999 – Mr. Payam Pordelnejad-Haghighi was refused his diploma from the Islamic Free University because of his conversion to Christianity. As a result, he was unable to obtain employment commensurate with his degree. Further, he was fired from the two jobs he was able to obtain when employers discovered he was an "apostate." Mr. Pordelnejad-Haghighi’s wife was also refused employment because of her religious faith even though she applied for 100 different jobs. The two eventually fled the country. (ICI)
     
• June 1998 – Mr. Alireza Mahmoudian and his wife, Mahboobeh, have been the victims of ongoing persecution. Alireza was fired from his job because of his conversion to Christianity. Later he became self employed but lost many bids as an industrial interior designer when the MIG called and forced the companies to cancel their contracts. Alireza was also beaten by MIG thugs and had his car set on fire by members of his wife’s family. Mahboobeh was held for questioning after attending a Christian convention in Cyprus. When she refused to give them the information they wanted, authorities threatened to kill her son and show her husband doctored-up videos of Mahboobeh having sexual intercourse with another man. The Mahmoudians son, Ahmad, was also persecuted at school, being forced to say Muslim prayers and threatened with expulsion if he did not convert to Islam. (ICI)
     
• November and December 1997--Forty members of the Jama'at-e Rabbani (Assembly of God) in Tehran were summoned and interrogated by government officials. They were forced to sign a commitment to stop underground church meetings and were told they could only meet in churches. Security measures around churches are such that guards check the identity of all persons entering the church. Anyone of a Muslim background is not allowed admittance.
     
• Fall 1997--Several Iranian Christians who converted from Islam were arrested. During their detention, they suffered physical abuse and one or more of them was injected with a lethal radioactive material just prior to release so that they would die off of the police premises. The presence of the radioactive material was discovered when one of the men had an x-ray taken and he was able to receive treatment. The other prisoners have since disappeared.

• August 25, 1997--Mr. Dimitri Bellos, who is the administrator of the Anglican Church in Iran, was arrested at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran while attempting to go to the Netherlands to join his wife and children. He was detained until mid-December, 1997 and was not permitted visitors. He is currently under heavy surveillance and is not allowed to leave Iran as he must be ready to appear before local authorities at any time.
     
• July 1997--Twenty to Thirty Christians in an underground Jama'at-e Rabbani (Assembly of God) church in Shiraz were arrested. During their detainment, these people were interrogated and beaten. Pastor Novroozian and his wife are believed to still be in prison and their condition is unknown. One of the members of the church was charged with apostasy and sentenced to death since he was a convert from Islam. He was later released but is still in danger of being rearrested or executed. He had been arrested in 1995 and attempts were made to get him to return to Islam. Two other members of the church have fled Iran. It is not known if they were charged with any crime.
     
• Fall, 1996--About twenty believers in the underground Jama'at-e Rabbani (Assembly of God) church in Sari were arrested, detained, beaten, interrogated, and later released.
    
• October 1996--Mr. Shahram Sepehri-Fard was arrested and charged with espionage and adultery. It is believed that his imprisonment had more to do with his and his family's conversion to Christianity than the two capital offenses he was charged with. He was later released after international pressure was applied on his behalf. He has since fled the country.
    
• September 1996--Pastor Mohammed Yussefi (also known as Ravanbaksh), a Muslim who converted to evangelical Christianity, was found dead in a public park. It is widely believed government agents were responsible for his death. Police several times in the preceding years had imprisoned Yussefi.
     
• May 1996--Pastor and church leaders were arrested and forced to sign statement that agreed to the following: Evangelizing and witnessing about Jesus Christ is forbidden, allowing Muslims into a church is forbidden, baptizing a person with a Muslim background is illegal, contact between the church in Iran and churches in other countries must take place through the church's leadership council and with the prior knowledge of the Ministry of Information and Islamic Guidance, and all church leaders must report to the Ministry of Information and Islamic Guidance at later dates for purposes of interrogation and making further commitments and guarantees. The pastors were warned not to tell anyone of their arrest.

Prisoners: The current number of prisoners held for their religious belief is not known.

Suggested Actions You Might Take:

• Pray for the Christians of Iran that they may be protected from harm and that the Christian message may be heard and received by all
• Write a respectful letter to one or more of the government officials listed below. Express your continuing concern for the safety and well being of the Christian community in Iran. Request information about what steps the government is taking to ensure their protection and freedom to practice their faith as laid out in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents.
• Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Congressman etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in Iran asking them to make an inquiry into their status.
• Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org.

Official Contacts: No official diplomatic ties exist between the United States and Iran. All required contacts are processed through the Swiss Embassy:

*We make every attempt to keep up with and reflect changes in the national government of Iran and the current human rights situation. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact us by e-mail at ICC@PERSECUTION.ORG. Thanks.

POSTED:  May 8, 2003

ICC Articles on Iran:

• January 14, 2003 - CONCERN - Posted the December edition of the CONCERN Newsletter.  Includes Top Ten Countries Persecuting Christians: Vietnam, North Korea, Myanmar, China, Laos, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Pakistan.