Christians Imprisoned For Apostasy In Iran

In very similar circumstances to the recent detention of Baha’is in Iran, two Christian social workers have been imprisoned in Evin prison since the 15th of July. Apparently their ‘crimes’  are  ’apostasy and violations of national security’…

The independent online Persian news agency Rooz, which is critical of the regime, reported on July 15 that two Christian women, 30-year-old Marsiye Aminsadeh and 27-year-old Mariam Rostampur, had been arrested in Tehran about four months earlier. The pair are social workers who without pay, help people in trouble regardless of race or religion. The two Christians were charged with apostasy and violations of national security and are being held at the notorious Evin Prison. Interrogated on a daily basis, they are held under very harsh conditions with no access to legal or medical assistance. According to Rooz, there are currently at least 50 Christians in Iranian prisons in Tehran, Schiras, Maschad and Urumije, among others.

Source: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/4577

State Of Religious Freedom Worsens In Iran

I am concerned to learn that according to Dr. Richard Land, a commissioner with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the state of religious freedom in Iran has “worsened” during the past year.

 “In Iran, government rhetoric and actions worsened conditions for nearly all non-Shi’a religious groups, most notably for the Baha’is, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the Jewish community. The Commission has decided to designate Iran as a country of particular concern again because the situation has worsened,” said Land.

He added that the Iranian Parliament has been considering a law since September 2008, which includes a bill enshrining the death penalty for apostasy. “This proposed penal code should be rescinded,” said Land.

“The Commission urges the US government to call for the release of Muslim minorities and dissidents, including those Sufi Muslims in prison, as well as Ayatollah Boroujerdi, a senior Shi’a cleric who advocates the separation of religion and state,” he continued.

“The government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based on primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused,” USCIRF’s 2009 report concluded.

Source:  WashingtonTV

Human Rights Meeting Held In Tehran

Iran Press Watch reports that human rights activists in Iran met to discuss freedom of ideas and the rights of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic. The meeting was held at the premises of the “Organization of Iran’s Graduates” in Tehran. This meeting took place in the context of the recent legalization of the death penalty for apostates from Islam and ongoing religious oppression in Iran. The main speaker was Dr. Hashem Aghajari, a muslim scholar and professor of history at the “Tarbyat-e Moddaress” (teacher training college). Dr Aghajari said that the main purpose of the meeting was to “promote a progressive and compassionate view of Divine religions based on peaceful co-existence among all people”.  I am impressed by the courage of Dr. Aghajari who was also reported as referring to the views of Ayatollah Montazeri about the civil rights of the Baha’i community in Iran. Dr. Aghajari is quoted as saying “Here we are talking about the land. Citizenry rights are not just civil rights. This means that Iran is a land that belongs to all the people of Iran. These people own the land and rule the land therefore each and everyone is a citizen of this land.”

Death Penalty For Changing Faith In Iran

I am very concerned to learn from the Telegraph.co.uk that Iranian Christian Ramtin Soodman is being held in prison in Mashad, Iran having being arrested on August 21. Although like the Bahá’í prisoners he has not been formally charged, his sister Rashin fears that her bother may be executed for the ‘crime’ of apostasy as was her father Hossein Soodman in 1990. Hossein Soodman converted to Christianity at the age of 13. Rashin is especially concerned for the fate of her brother as the Iranian parliament recently passed a bill called the “Islamic Penal Code”, which codifies the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves the Islamic faith. (Women would ‘merely’ be sentenced to life imprisonment). Depressingly the new law was passed with an overwhelming majority of 196 to 7 votes…