Rukhsareh Ghanbari, a Christian convert, was transferred to prison to serve her sentence.
In recent days, “Rukhsara “Maherakh” Qanbari,” a Christian convert living in Karaj, was arrested and transferred to prison to serve her 1-year prison sentence after referring to the Enforcement Department of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Alborz Province.
According to the Human Rights in Iran report, quoted by Article 18, on Monday, October 12, 2019, “Rukhsareh “Maherkh” Qanbari,” a Christian convert living in Karaj who had previously been sentenced to 1 year in prison by the Alborz Provincial Revolutionary Court for religious activities and conversion, was arrested and transferred to prison after being served a summons and referred to the Execution Unit of the Alborz Provincial Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office.
According to this report, this Christian convert, who is 61 years old, had previously been arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in Karaj for activities related to his religious belief in Christianity and conversion. After undergoing interrogation and completing the case file for referral to court, he was temporarily released from custody upon posting bail until the completion of the trial.
With the beginning of the trial process in the case of “Rukhsareh “Maherkh” Qanbari”, in July 2019, she was sentenced to 1 year of imprisonment by the Karaj Revolutionary Court on the charge of “propaganda against the regime through the propagation of Christianity,” which was confirmed in its entirety after being referred to the Court of Appeal.
The repression of Christians in Iran is expanding, even though Mohammad Javad Zarif and officials from the Judiciary's Human Rights Headquarters have repeatedly denied the use of violent behavior and extra-legal actions against Christian converts and religious dissidents in international forums.
Since the victory of the revolution in Bahman 1979, at least six church leaders have been killed in Iran and hundreds of Christians have been interrogated and imprisoned.
In addition, the printing of Christian Bibles in Persian has been banned, some churches have been closed, and church services in Persian have been prevented.
It is worth noting that despite the fact that Christians are recognized as followers of one of the religions by law, the security services follow the issue of Muslims converting to Christianity with particular sensitivity and deal with activists in this field with force.
Javed Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, described the situation of Christian converts in Iran as "deeply concerning" during a meeting held in the British Parliament on Thursday. He added that the issue was one of his "concerns and concerns" and that he would be addressing it seriously in the coming years.
Source: Ngam
