Religious issues and persecution – Monthly Digest October
Christians
US resettlement of Iranian Christian refugees increases, but concerns remain
Article 18 (23.10.2024) – 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 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September, compared to just 54 in 2020, when refugee resettlement fell to an historic low, according to the ‘State of the Golden Door’ report by World Relief and Open Doors.
Christian converts incommunicado month after re-arrest
Article 18 (17.10.2024) – Three Christian converts arrested in the northern Iranian city of Nowshahr last month remain in detention in an unknown location nearly a month after their arrest.
Jahangir Alikhani, Hamed Malamiri, and Gholam Eshaghi, who were previously arrested at Christmas last year and were already facing charges relating to their Christian faith, were arrested on 23 and 24 September by intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
They are believed to have been taken to Sari, the provincial capital, which is three hours’ drive from Nowshahr, but their families have not heard from them since their arrest, while Article18 understands they have been denied access to a lawyer.
Iran’s Catholic archbishop chosen as one of Pope Francis’ new cardinals
Article 18 (08.10.2024) – Pope Francis has chosen the archbishop of the Catholic Church in Iran as one of his new cardinals.
Fr Dominique Mathieu, who has led the Tehran-Isfahan archdiocese since 2021, will be one of 21 new cardinals appointed by the pope in December and the first ever to be based in Iran.
The Tehran-Isfahan archdiocese is one of the smallest in the world, with just six parishes and an estimated 2,000-6,000 members, comprised almost entirely of ethnic Assyrians and Armenians, and expatriates.
Detained Christian in ‘psychologically very bad condition and only cries’
Article 18 (03.10.2024) – The brother-in-law of a Christian convert who remains detained nearly a month after her arrest says he fears his sister-in-law may carry the psychological scars of her ordeal for the rest of her life.
Sam Khosravi told Morning Star News that his detained sister-in-law, Mojdeh Falahi, is “psychologically in a very bad condition, and only cries”.
Mojdeh has been detained since her arrest on 9 September at the prosecutor’s office in Shiraz, where she had gone to provide documents to secure the release for another detained Christian.
Baha’is
Insights from the field: Podcast explores the contribution of the Bahá’ís of Iran to society
BNWS (28.10.2024) – In the latest podcast episode from the Bahá’í World News Service, Mina Yazdani—a professor of history at Eastern Kentucky University in the United States—explored the profound contribution of the Bahá’í community in Iran to their society.
Dr. Yazdani shared some accounts of these contributions in several areas, including health, agriculture, and education.
She explained how the Bahá’ís of Iran, despite relentless persecution, have embodied constructive resilience and have persisted in their endeavors to serve the needs of their society from its inception in the mid-nineteenth century.
Among these endeavors, Dr. Yazdani highlighted the Bahá’í community’s practice of consultation and collective decision-making, referring to its impact during the period of Iran’s Constitutional Revolution, which took place in the early 20th century.
Tehran Revolutionary Court sentences Baha’i citizen to 11 years in prison and orders asset confiscation
Iran Press Watch (28.10.2024) – A source informed Voice of America that the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Abolghasem Salavati, sentenced Behraad Azargan, a Baha’i citizen, to 11 years in prison and the confiscation of his assets.
According to a report received by the Persian section of Voice of America on Saturday, October 26, the final court session for Behraad Azargan, a Baha’i citizen and music instructor, took place on October 6 in Branch 15 of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court under Judge Abolghasem Salavati. Last week, he was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison.
Exclusive report from Radio Farda: Cases of “threats of torture” against 10 Baha’i women in Isfahan during detention
Iran Press Watch (25.10.2024) – Informed sources told Radio Farda that ten Baha’i women sentenced to lengthy prison terms by the First Branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, presided over by Mohammadreza Tavakoli, endured various forms of “psychological torture” and “threats of physical torture” during their detention.
According to information received by Radio Farda, these women were threatened with “rape, sexual assault, fingernail pulling, sitting on an electric chair, and being scalded with boiling water” while being interrogated in the Intelligence Office building in Isfahan.
Two Baha’i women in Babol sentenced to 10 years in prison and social restrictions
Iran Press Watch (23.10.2024) – Suzan Eid Mohammadzadegan and Niusha Badiei Sabet, two Baha’i citizens, have been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison, along with additional social restrictions, by Branch 1 of the Babol Revolutionary Court.
In the court’s ruling, delivered to the defendants today, each was sentenced to five years in prison, with time served during pre-trial detention considered. Additionally, both women have been banned from all educational and training activities for 18 months. They were convicted of “engaging in educational or promotional activities contrary to the sacred Sharia of Islam.”
Evin Prison; Mahvash Sabet, 72-year-old Baha’i citizen, in need of medical attention
Iran Press Watch (13.10.2024) – Mahvash Sabet (Shahriari), a former member of the Baha’i leadership council in Iran known as “Yaran-e-Iran” (Friends of Iran), who is serving her sentence in Evin Prison, has been deprived of specialized medical care despite her deteriorating health condition.
A source close to Ms. Sabet’s family confirmed this report to HRANA, stating: “This 72-year-old prisoner, who suffers from respiratory illness and breathing problems, has been denied specialized medical treatment and transfer to medical facilities outside the prison despite her poor physical condition.”
Iran to launch anti-Baha’i propaganda exhibition
Iran Press Watch (11.10.2024) – Authorities of the Islamic Republic in northern Sari are planning to launch an exhibition to promote propaganda against religious minorities.
Iranian media has reported on an upcoming exhibition titled “Water and Mirage,” which will focus on propaganda against religious minorities, particularly the Baha’i faith.
According to the IRNA news agency, the “Water and Mirage” exhibition will be held for one week starting on October 12, in collaboration with the Institute for Studies on Sects and Religions, the Mazandaran Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the Sari Municipality, at a park.
Iran denies medical care to elderly Baha’i prisoner
Iran Press Watch (06.10.2024) – The Islamic Republic’s authorities have deprived a 67-year-old Baha’i prisoner of specialized medical care, human rights sources reported.
Valiollah Ghadamian was sentenced to two years in prison by the 36th Branch of the Tehran Court of Appeals last year and is currently serving his sentence in Evin Prison.
According to the HRANA human rights news agency, “The political prisoner was recently transferred to a hospital for treatment but was returned to prison shortly after without receiving proper medical attention.”