Persecution imposed on Christians since the victory of the Islamic Revolution until now

Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, religious dissidents have been under pressure, assault, and persecution by the Islamic Republic government. Christians, Baha'is, Jews, Zoroastrians, Sunni Muslims, Gonabadi Dervishes, and Muslims who have converted to Christianity or other religions have not been immune to the regime's repression and persecution, so much so that many of them, especially Baha'is, Christians, and Jews, have preferred to flee rather than remain in Iran and have chosen to emigrate. Many others who remain in Iran are subject to harassment, oppression, and oppression by the government.

Unfortunately, Iranian Muslims who convert to Christianity have paid a very high price and in some cases have lost their lives in the process. After the victory of the 1979 revolution, in addition to the attacks against Baha'is, the murder of priests and persecution of Christians also began. The first priest to fall victim to the crime was "Aristotle Sayyah" in Shiraz, a week after the Islamic Revolution, who was murdered in a horrific manner.

Bishop Hassan Dehghani was also shot five times in his sleep in Isfahan, but survived the horrific assassination. In 1970, Bishop Dehghani's son Bahram Dehghani was kidnapped and shot dead in Tehran. Manouchehr Afghani was also murdered in Isfahan in 1988 by the Protestant Council of Priests.

Persecution of Christians continued until in 1992, Pastor Hossein Soodmand of the Jamaat Rabbani Church in Mashhad was sentenced to death on charges of apostasy and his sentence was carried out. Pastor Soodmand was the first priest to be sentenced to death by trial in court, and his execution was the first to be carried out openly and publicly, and not by assassination.

In 1986, the imprisoned priest Mehdi Dibaj was sentenced to death in a court in Sari on charges of natural apostasy. The Christian community in Iran, especially the priest Hayek Hospian-Mehr, made great efforts to save him. In this way, the leader of the Congregation of the Theological Churches, Pastor Hospian, launched international campaigns and attracted the attention of Christians and public opinion around the world to this issue, so that his humanitarian action played a very important and effective role in the release of Pastor Dibaj. Pastor Hospian had written a letter to the Council of the Congregation of the Theological Churches to participate in an international appeal. In this letter, he said: "The case is that our brother Mehdi Dibaj has been sentenced to death by the Sharia judge of the city of Sari. Dibaj has sent me his death sentence, which is a clear and affirmative document that according to Sharia law he is an apostate and must be executed. "They want to free themselves from the clutches of the Protestant churches alone, and we have become their best scapegoats. I admire your determination to take action, and our executive office has also come to the conclusion that the policy of 'silence and waiting' is a diabolical policy. Even if we die or are imprisoned for our beliefs, we want to make all Christians in the world understand what is happening to their brothers and sisters in a country that claims to be religious."

Pastor Hospian's letter caused the Islamic Republic to cancel the death sentence of Pastor Mehdi Dibaj, and Pastor Dibaj was finally released on January 16, 1993, after 7 years in prison. However, three days after his release, Pastor Hayek Hospian-Mehr was kidnapped by the Islamic Republic's secret police on the way to Mehrabad Airport and disappeared. After 11 days of relentless efforts to find Pastor Hayek, his family finally received his mutilated body, which had been torn apart by 26 knife wounds, from the forensic morgue. His killers had made a deep hole in his chest, right over his heart, with a sharp instrument. His gruesome murder was carried out to seek revenge, to teach a lesson, and to create fear and terror among the people.

Six months after the murder of Pastor Hayek, Pastor Tataos Mikaelian, the head of the Protestant Council of Priests, disappeared after leaving his home in Tehran. A few days later, his son was summoned to identify the body of his father, who had been shot in the head several times. His killers had placed a piece of paper on Pastor Mikaelian's body with the name of Pastor Mehdi Dibaj. The body of Pastor Mehdi Dibaj, who had also been stabbed to death, was found in the forests around Karaj. After the murders of Pastor Mikaelian and Pastor Dibaj, security officials arranged for three young girls to give false confessions and identify them as members of the People's Mojahedin Organization (MEK) responsible for the murders.

In 1996, Pastor Mohammad Bagher Yousefi, nicknamed "Ravanbakhsh", a member of the Congregation of the Rabbani Church, was also hanged in the forest.

The murder of priests and church members, their persecution, and the confiscation of their property continued until, in December 2005, "Father Dardi-Turani," a member of the house churches, was also murdered, and his family found his body covered in blood with his throat slit in front of their house.

After that, in June 2007, "Mohammad Jaberi" and "Mohammad Ali Jafarzadeh", members of the house churches, were also murdered. In 2008, "Abbas Amiri", who had participated in the Iran-Iraq War as a Basij member for a long time before converting to Christianity and was injured, was murdered by security forces in Malekshahr, Isfahan, and three days after his death, his wife also died from injuries sustained from torture by security agents.

In addition to these individuals, there are many other Christians who continue to be persecuted by the Islamic Republic regime and are deprived of the right to education, decent jobs, and many civil rights, and many of them are even in prison. Every year, on the eve of the birth of Jesus Christ and the beginning of the new year, many Christians, especially Muslims who have converted to Christianity and are engaged in worship and worship in home churches, are arrested by regime agents and convicted on false charges.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which has committed crimes against religious minorities for 45 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, continues to persecute them, despite signing the Declaration of Commitment on Human Rights and Freedom of Religion and Belief.