Welcome to US Federal Judge’s Ruling on Iranian Christian Asylum Seekers
A ruling by a US federal judge in California regarding approximately 90 Iranian asylum seekers from religious minorities has been welcomed by civil rights activists.
Many of these asylum seekers are newly converted Iranian Christians. Converting from Islam to other religions under Iranian law carries severe punishments, the least of which are long prison sentences.
The Trump administration rejected these asylum seekers’ applications en masse early this year, and now the federal judge has compelled the government to review these applications individually.
Since then, the asylum seekers have been living in limbo in Vienna, the capital of Austria, as they can neither return to Iran where they would face imprisonment and possibly death, nor can they join their families in America.
The rejection of these Iranian asylum seekers’ applications drew the attention of human rights advocacy groups, US lawmakers from both parties, and even some senior Trump administration officials.
The US State Department writes in its annual report on religious freedoms in Iran regarding Christians in Iran: “Iranian Christians, members of traditional churches, are under strict government surveillance and the construction or renovation of their places of worship faces legal restrictions. The government particularly suppresses evangelical Christians and those who have converted to Christianity. Christian missionaries and pastors of house churches are typically tried on baseless charges related to national security, apostasy, and operating illegal house churches. The government also particularly spreads materials against them across Iran in cyberspace and in the press.”
The report continued: “While Iranian officials have been raiding house churches for several decades and have arrested hundreds of Christians engaged in worship and church leaders, they have also increased punishments against them in recent years.”
The US State Department has repeatedly condemned human rights violations and religious freedom violations in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
