IRAN: Religious issues and persecution – Monthly Digest November
Christians
Pope: Church not against Iran government but religious freedom ‘cornerstone of human rights’
Article 18 (27.11.2024) – Pope Francis has said it is “a lie” to say the Catholic Church is opposed to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but that religious freedom is the “cornerstone” of human rights.
The pope, speaking in Rome last Wednesday as the Vatican hosted a delegation from the “Centre for Inter-religious & Intercultural Dialogue” in Tehran, said: “The Church is not against the government. To say otherwise is a lie.”
He added that he was “aware” of the “challenges” the Church faces “as it perseveres in bearing witness to Christ and contributing, quietly but significantly, to the good of society as a whole, while rejecting all religious, ethnic or political discrimination”.
Convert detained as 12 face trial after ‘identifying themselves as Christians’
Article 18 (26.11.2024) – Twelve Christian converts, including one currently detained by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were due to appear in court today in the northern city of Nowshahr after the prosecutor noted in his indictment that they had “identified themselves as Christians during their defence”.
The 12 Christians summoned to the 1st Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Nowshahr today were among over 20 Christians first arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in Nowshahr and neighbouring Chalus last Christmas.
UN calls on Iran to ‘cease monitoring individuals on account of their religious identity’
Article 18 (21.11.2024) – The UN General Assembly’s Third Committee adopted a resolution yesterday expressing “serious concern” at “ongoing severe limitations and increasing restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief” in Iran.
The resolution, which was passed by 77 votes to 28, with 66 abstentions, names Christians, and “particularly converts from Islam”, among the recognised and unrecognised religious minorities suffering human rights violations including “increased harassment, intimidation, persecution, arbitrary arrest, detention and incitement to hatred that leads to violence”.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince highlights ‘widespread and rampant persecution’ of Christians
Article 18 (20.11.2024) – The exiled son of the former Shah of Iran has highlighted the “widespread and rampant persecution” of Christians and other religious minorities in the Islamic Republic.
In a post on X yesterday, Reza Pahlavi said his country was “once a bastion of religious liberty. But that changed with the Islamic Revolution of 1979”.
“Christians are routinely imprisoned for their beliefs, facing absurd charges of ‘acts against national security’ and ‘collaboration and espionage for enemy states’.”
Convert reportedly given 10-year sentence for ‘propagating Christianity’
Article 18 (18.11.2024) – A Christian convert has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges including engaging in “propaganda” by “propagating Christianity”, according to an Iranian Christian news site.
The convert, identified as Toomaj Aryan-Kia, was also convicted of “collaborating” with the “hostile governments” of Israel, the UK and the US, and of membership in “anti-regime groups”, Mohabat News reports.
The charges were pronounced on 5 November at the 3rd Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj, by Judge Mostafa Narimani, who also banned Toomaj from membership of any group for two years after his release.
New rapporteur pledges to ‘examine’ impact of Iran’s religious freedom restrictions
Article 18 (08.11.2024) – The new UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has pledged to “examine” the impact of Iran’s restrictions on religious freedom as part of an “intersectional” approach to rights violations.
In her first address to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mai Sato acknowledged that Iran’s religious minorities “face systematic discrimination”, including “arbitrary detention, unfair trial, disproportionate application of the death penalty”, and “restrictions on their cultural practices, language rights and religious freedom”.
The rapporteur promised to address these issues further in a future report, by examining “the impact of laws, policies [and] customs on specific groups”, including different religions.
Baha’is
11 years to deny justice: Iranian court rejects legal compensation to family of murder victim killed for his Baha’i beliefs
Iran Press watch (21.11.2024) – Eleven years ago Ataollah Rezvani, a Baha’i man in Iran, was brutally murdered in his car for being a member of Iran’s largest religious minority, the Baha’i Faith. He was shot in the back of his head in a premeditated assassination-style attack—and after enduring months of physical threats against him. Mr. Rezvani, a father of two, was 52 years old when he was found dead in his car on 22 August, 2013, near the Bandar Abbas train station in Hormozgan province.
Eleven years on, a ruling was finally handed down on 22 October, 2024, by Branch 1 of the Criminal Court in Hormozgan, confirming at last that Mr. Rezvani was in fact the victim of a premeditated murder.
Behrad Azargan, Baha’i Artist, sentenced to 7 years in prison on appeal
Iran Press Watch (21.11.2024) – Behrad Azargan, a Baha’i musician residing in Tehran, has had his prison sentence reduced to seven years by Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals in Tehran Province. He had previously been sentenced at the primary trial to 11 years in prison, confiscation of seized belongings, a two-year ban on online activities, and a travel ban.
Under the ruling delivered by Branch 36 and conveyed to Mr. Azargan, he was sentenced to five years in prison for “engaging in educational or promotional activities deemed deviant to Islamic Sharia under the guise of sects, groups, or similar entities” and two years for “spreading falsehoods.”
Baha’i students denied University admission in Shiraz due to discriminatory policies
Iran Press Watch (19.11.2024) – It was learned on 7 November 2024 that two Baha’i students from Shiraz, who have received their diplomas in experimental science applied to register at the Islamic Azad University of Shiraz through the online application system. On the site, they both received the response that “the information entered is incorrect”. When the students followed up with the university administration one of the managers explained that in 2023, the authorities announced that Baha’is should not be accepted. He went on to state “All educational institutions, even non-profit ones, must only accept candidates through the Educational Assessment and Evaluation Organization. The national code for the Baha’is has been discontinued, and they do not allow Baha’is to enter educational institutions.”
Three Baha’i citizens arrested in Shiraz
Iran Press Watch (11.11.2024) – On November 10, Vahid Masoumi, Rozita Eslami, and Elham Haghighatjou, Baha’i citizens residing in Shiraz, were arrested by security forces and transferred to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as “House No 100.”
According to reports received by HRANA, Mr. Masoumi was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents while leaving his home and taken to the facility. During the arrest, the agents searched his vehicle and residence, seizing several personal belongings, including electronic devices, books, and family photos.
Ms. Eslami was also arrested at her residence following a search of the premises.
Three Baha’i citizens arrested in Isfahan
Iran Press Watch (07.11.2024) – On Saturday, November 2, security forces arrested three Baha’i citizens—Rashid Dehghani, Pedram Dehghani, and Parsa Dehghani—in the city of Tiran, Isfahan, and transferred them to an undisclosed location, according to Radio Farda. Rashid and Pedram are residents of Tehran, while Parsa resides in Karaj.
The three had traveled to Tiran in Isfahan to attend a Baha’i religious celebration, during which security forces detained them along with eight other Baha’i attendees. While the eight others have since been released, there is still no information on the whereabouts or condition of Rashid, Pedram, and Parsa Dehghani.
Arrests, imprisonments of Baha’i Soar as Iran’s war on religious minority intensifies
Iran Press Watch (06.11.2024) – Over 1,200 Facing Court Proceedings or Sentenced to Prison for Practicing Faith.
November 5, 2024 – The Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on the Baha’i community, the country’s largest unrecognized religious minority, with soaring arrests and detentions that have particularly targeted Baha’i women, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) and the International Baha’i Community (BIC) said today.
While the Iranian government has for decades relentlessly persecuted members of the Baha’i faith, arresting and imprisoning their leaders and blocking them from school, jobs, and business ownership, the state’s assault on the community has greatly intensified, with over a thousand Baha’is—predominantly women—now facing court proceedings or lengthy prison sentences.
Three Baha’i citizens’ businesses sealed in Qaemshahr
Iran Press Watch (06.11.2024) – On Sunday, November 4, officials from the City’s Places of Public Establishment Administration sealed the businesses of three Baha’i citizens in Qaemshahr. The closures followed a two-day religious holiday observed by the Baha’i community.
According to information received by Hrana, the affected businesses included Sohrab Laqa’i-Azar’s optometry shop, Kamran Babaei’s refrigerator repair shop, and a stationery store owned by Kamran Abedini, all Baha’i residents of Qaemshahr. A relative of these individuals informed Hrana that Saturday and Sunday of that week were religious holidays for the Baha’is. Because these Baha’i citizens closed their stores in observance, their businesses were subsequently sealed by officials.