Continued repression of religious freedoms in Iran; arrest of a group of Christian converts in three Iranian cities
In recent days, at least 12 Christian citizens have been arrested in the cities of Tehran, Karaj, and Malayer after security forces raided their homes.
The "Article 18" organization reported on Friday, July 4 that a group of security forces raided the homes of some Christian converts in the Yaftabad district of Tehran and Karaj on Tuesday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 4, and arrested at least 9 people after searching their homes. According to this report, on Wednesday, July 2, at least 3 Christian converts were arrested by security forces in the city of Malayer.
According to the report, on Tuesday, 10 security officers raided a prayer meeting in Yaftabad, Tehran, where 30 Christian citizens were present, and interrogated them. It is said that during the raid, security forces confiscated a number of religious books and mobile phones of the attendees, filmed the attendees, and beat some of them. At least six people were arrested, namely “Zozef Shahbazian”, “Reza N”, “Salar A.”, “Mina Kh”, “Marim Kh” and another person named “Sonia”.
According to the Article 18 organization, security officers forced those present at the meeting to sign a form to confirm that "no mistreatment" had occurred with these citizens.
It should be noted that this report does not state to which prison or security agency detention center these individuals were transferred after their arrest.
On the other hand, according to the organization's report, the identities of the individuals arrested in Karaj city are "Farhad M," "Arash R," and "Farhad Kh." Currently, bail of 50 million Tomans has been set for two of these detainees. The identities of the Christian converts arrested in Malayer city are "Sohrab A," "Ibrahim A," and a person named "Yaser." According to available information, each of these individuals was temporarily released on Thursday, July 2, after posting bail of 30 million Tomans.
This is not the first time that the Islamic Republic has dealt with Christian converts with violence. Previously, the Voice of America had announced in several reports that some of these citizens were being arrested by security forces and sentenced to long prison sentences.
