Equality of Christian Prisoners with Other Prisoners from the Perspective of “Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’ei”

“Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’ei,” head of Iran’s judicial branch, regarded Christian prisoners as equal to other prisoners.

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’ei, head of Iran’s judicial branch, stated during remarks made among representatives of the Armenian and Assyrian churches and some other religious officials, that the conditions of Christian citizens and Muslims in prison are equal. He made these statements at a time when Revolutionary Courts have been oppressing Christians for years, imprisoning them for their faith and beliefs, as well as for peaceful activities.

He stated in his remarks: “We have issued an order granting five-day furloughs to qualified convicted Christians.” Qualified Christians, from the perspective of the head of the judicial branch, do not include believers imprisoned in house churches or for possessing a Farsi Bible. Rather, his definition of qualified Christians refers to financial criminals from the Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities.

Gholam-Hossein Eje’ei made these claims while many imprisoned Christians have been sent to prison on charges of acting against national security and are held alongside thieves, smugglers, and criminals in general with serious charges. Among the prisoners imprisoned for their faith, “Hakop Gotsomyan” can be mentioned, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “deviant educational and propaganda activities contrary to the sacred Islamic law through membership and direction of evangelical Christianity networks in the country.”

Also worth mentioning are “Laleh Saadat,” “Mina Khajavi,” “Ibrahim Firouzi,” and “Yaser Akbari.” Laleh Saadat was imprisoned on charges of “acting against national security,” and Mina Khajavi on charges of “running illegal groups with the aim of undermining the country’s security.” Both of them were deprived of medical facilities for extended periods due to their health conditions.

“Ibrahim Firouzi” also spent more than seven years in prison and exile, even being deprived of visits with his sick mother. Yaser Akbari was held for five years and was deprived of caring for his severely ill son, Amir-Ali. These individuals are only a small number of Christians imprisoned for their faith and subjected to lengthy sentences.

“Hossein Ahmadi-Niyaz,” a lawyer based in the Netherlands, told Article 18 organization about the main cause of Christian persecution in Iran: “The reality is that Iran’s judicial system over these 45 years has been the main agent of suppression, torture, and imprisonment of Christian converts in Iran, in such a way that judges of Islamic Revolutionary Courts, who are responsible for handling these cases, have deprived accused Christian converts of minimum legal rights stipulated in Iranian law and have given security agencies permission for illegal detention, unlawful searches, torture, mistreatment, asset seizure, denial of access to independent counsel, issuance of unlawful rulings, illegal deprivation of legal exemptions, and so forth. Therefore, the institution that is itself responsible for all the suffering and torture of Christian converts in Iran cannot be so noble, and this is more for propaganda and deceiving international human rights organizations and Western governments.”

Eje’ei’s claim about equal rights for Christians and other citizens came at a time when Christian citizens have repeatedly been declared apostates for their beliefs, and severe sentences have even been issued against them. Many have also been called “unclean” during interrogations because of their faith.