Amnesty International campaigns to free four Christians in Iran
Amnesty International launched an initiative to seek the liberation of four Iranian Christians, condemned to prison for their faith.
Iranian prisons are places of cruel torture that include floggings, forced confessions and executions. More than 230, 000 Iranian citizens are in prison; many of them are there because of their religion, faith beliefs or their personal opinions.
Recently, Amnesty International began a campaign to release four Christian prisoners. The Human Rights Organization asked the Iranian government to urgently “abolish the conviction and sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Isavi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari, who were imprisoned for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, to meet and to practise their religion. They were detained simply because they were Christians. The four men are now under conditional release and are awaiting trial.
End the baseless imprisonment of Christians in Iran
The initiative of Amnesty International is intended to “end the groundless and arbitrary imprisonment of Christians in Iran, including those who converted to Christianity from Islam.”
According to the NGO, Iran has to “Respect the freedom of religion and beliefs, including an individual’s right to change religion, the freedom to profess one’s religion, to worship, or to be educated in the faith. These rights are guaranteed by the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights which Iran also belongs to.”
In 2017, at least 52 Christians were arrested in Iran
The Assyrian Victor Bet-Tamraz, pastor of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Teheran, his wife, Shamiram Issavi Khabizeh, and their son, Ramil along with three other men: Kaviyan Fallah-Mohammadi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari, were taken into custody for engaging in Christian religious activities. They could receive a prison sentence ranging from four months to fifteen years. Their case is based on false accusations. In 2017, at least 52 Christians were arrested for their faith in Iran.
Source, photo: Portes Ouvertes
