Tabriz Assyrian Evangelical Church closed

Following the raid by intelligence agents and several members of the Executive Headquarters of the Imam of Tabriz's Order on the Assyrian Evangelical Church in this city, in addition to the closure of the church, the cross that had been installed on top of the dome of this Christian religious place was also taken down by the city's security forces. 

According to the Human Rights in Iran report, citing Article 18, on Thursday, May 19, 2019, intelligence officers along with several members of the Executive Headquarters of the Imam's Order in Tabriz raided the Assyrian Church in this city, changed all the locks on the entrance doors to this religious place, which belongs to the Evangelical Assyrian Christians, and took down the cross that was on top of this church. The Assyrian Christian community in Tabriz is in shock with this incident. This church is one of the 100-year-old ancient monuments and is considered one of the national monuments in Iran.

An informed source said that after changing all the locks on the entrance doors and taking down the church cross, the security forces openly told the Assyrian Christians of Tabriz, who had inquired about the reason for the closure of the religious place they used to worship, that the Assyrians were no longer allowed to hold any religious or church ceremonies in this church.

The informed source also said: "A few days after Christmas, concerns among church members began. The reason was the prevention of the presence of priests from other churches to hold a joint church ceremony. The ceremony was supposed to be held at the Tabriz Evangelical Church, but security agencies did not allow this to happen."

This informed source continued: On May 9, 2019, a large number of agents from the Intelligence Department and the Executive Headquarters of the Imam's Order, an institution that operates directly under the supervision of the Supreme Leader, entered our church, changed the locks on all the doors, took down a cross that was installed on the church tower, installed a number of security devices in the church, and forced the caretaker to leave his residence, which was inside the church yard, and go to another location outside the church.

It should be noted that the Tabriz Evangelical Church, which once held church services in Assyrian, Armenian, Persian, and English, was confiscated in 2011 by the ruling of the First Branch of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court, headed by Hassan Babaei, in favor of the Imam's Command Implementation Headquarters. However, until the day the building was seized, the Assyrians were able to continue using the church building to hold their religious services in Assyrian.

Services in other non-Assyrian languages ​​had been suspended in this church for over 30 years, and it was part of the "Assyrian-speaking Evangelical Church Association."

Mansour Borji, director of the Article 18 organization, said in this regard: "Many Protestant churches in Iran have been confiscated so far. In most cases, the government has not changed their use but has left them until they are demolished. Some, like the Kerman church, have been reduced to ruins and then razed to the ground."

The repression of Iranian Christians, which includes Christian converts, Armenians, Assyrians, and Catholic Christians, is systematic and widespread, with the aim of violating the civil rights of these religious followers in Iran.

Christian citizens and Christian converts in Iran face all kinds of security charges. Currently, no citizen in Iran is sentenced for apostasy simply for changing their religion or converting to another religion, given that the Islamic Penal Code in Iran contains a charge of apostasy. However, the types of charges that religious dissidents and Iranian Christians, including Christian converts, Assyrian Christians, and Armenians in Iran, are facing have resulted in heavy prison sentences and in some cases, deportation or confiscation of property for Christian converts.

Assyrian and Armenian Christians are historical communities and recognized religious minorities in Iran. They are generally allowed to practice their religion freely, provided they do not hold church services in Persian and do not open their doors to Christian converts of Muslim origin.

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 a religious minority 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.

The suppression of religious dissent in Iran violates international human rights instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , adopted on December 16, 1986, which guarantees the right of individuals to change their religion and to practice their religion without fear and to freely propagate their religion without restriction.

Source: Human Rights in Iran