Some Christian prisoners in Iran are given "10 days of Christmas leave"
On Monday, January 26, the head of Iran's judiciary issued a circular to grant Christian prisoners 10 days of leave from prison on the occasion of the New Year. The circular does not mention the inclusion of Christian converts in prison.
According to Fars News Agency, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei issued this circular to judicial units and prosecutors across the country, but he exempted some Christian convicts, including those who, according to him, "have committed espionage crimes, acts against national security for which their sentences exceed five years, gang and organized crimes, disruption of the economic system, armed robbery, and kidnapping," from this leave.
The decision to grant New Year's leave to Christian prisoners is a new development during the Islamic Republic's rule.
Excluding converts from this decision comes at a time when, according to scattered reports from human rights websites, dozens of Christian converts have been arrested in Iran in recent years, and some of them are in prison.
"Propaganda against the regime" is a common charge commonly leveled against Christian converts in Iranian courts.
There are several statistics on the number of Christians in Iran. The Iranian State Statistics Center says that 117,000 Christians live in Iran, but some estimates say that the actual number of Christians is much higher than the official figure.
According to the World Christian Database, there are about 547,000 Christians in Iran. Another Christian organization, Pastors of Elam, says that there may be between 300,000 and 1 million Christians in Iran.
These statistics are presented at a time when, due to the persecution of Christian converts in Iran, their number is unknown.
Source: Radio Farda
