Kiaa Aalipour: Christians in Iran face organized discrimination

Kiaa Aalipour: Christians in Iran face organized discrimination

Heavy prison sentences, denial of education, pressure on families of overseas Christians, as well as exile, have been indicative of increased pressure on Christians in Iran.

On August 23, 2018, Amnesty International appealed to urgent action to quash the sentences issued for the pastor “Victor Bet Tamraz” and his wife “Shamiram Isavi” and the Christian converts “Amin Afshar Naderi” and “Hadi Asghari”. These four Christians have been sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison.

In an interview with Manoto News, Kiaa Aalipour, spokesman for the Article 18 organization, in answer to the question, how much such measures can reduce the pressure on Christians in Iran, says: “Despite the government propaganda, the Islamic Republic continues to violate the freedom and rights of religion and belief minorities, and the Christian community in Iran faces the organized and structural discrimination of the government. On the one hand, these measures will be effective in informing the Iranian people and, on the other hand, the international community in putting pressure on the Iranian government to respect the rights of its citizens, and for this reason, I appreciate the Amnesty International”.

He also stated: “Article 13 of the Iranian Constitution recognizes Zoroastrians, Christians and Jews as the only recognized religious minorities, and emphasizes that they are free to perform their religious ceremonies and that they are allowed to live according to their religion. Also, Article 23 of the Constitution states that inquisition is prohibited. The Charter of Citizenship Law, which was published with a lot of advertisings by the government of Hassan Rowhani, emphasizes on this matter, but these citizens were sentenced only due to the use of their own right namely freedom of religion and belief”.

In the answer to the question, why the pressure on Christians has increased recently, Alipour also says: “In the past few years, Christianity has grown dramatically in Iran, and in a religious government that is dominated by theocracy instead of democracy, converting people into other beliefs raises questions about the legitimacy of this system, and thus, such peaceful activities are considered as acts against national security”.

The spokesman for the Article 18 organization described the judicial process for Christian converts’ case as “very bad and unfair” and also said: “For example, these four Christians were under pressure over interrogations and had very short trials, and in general we saw cases that were unbelievable. Once a while they attacked on a Christian’s house, and seized the Christmas tree as instrument of crime and the carpet beneath it and Christian paintings including the Last Super which was also found in Iranian market”.

At the end, he pointed to the arbitrary detentions and a security approach to religious minorities, and said: “Heavy prison sentences, denial of education, pressure on families of overseas Christians, as well as exile, have been indicative of increased pressure on Christians in Iran.