US federal judge's ruling on Iranian Christian asylum seekers welcomed
A ruling by a US federal judge in California regarding approximately 90 Iranian asylum seekers from religious minorities has been welcomed by civil society activists.
Many of these refugees are Iranian Christians who have converted to Christianity. Converting from Islam to other religions carries severe penalties under Iranian law, not the least of which is long prison terms.
The Trump administration had rejected the asylum applications of these refugees en masse earlier this year, and now a federal judge has forced the government to review the applications individually.
The refugees have been in limbo in Vienna, the capital of Austria, since then, because they can neither return to Iran, where they face imprisonment and possible death, nor can they join their families in the United States.
The rejection of these Iranian asylum seekers' applications had attracted the attention of human rights groups, American lawmakers from both parties, and even some senior officials in the Trump administration.
The US State Department writes in its annual report on religious freedom in Iran regarding Iranian Christians: “Iranian Christians, members of traditional churches, are under intense government surveillance, and the construction or renovation of their places of worship face legal restrictions. The government particularly represses evangelical Christians and those who have converted to Christianity. Christian missionaries and house church pastors are routinely tried on unfounded charges related to national security, or apostasy and operating an illegal house church. The government also specifically publishes material against them across Iran in cyberspace and the press.”
The report continued: “While Iranian authorities have been raiding house churches for decades, arresting hundreds of worshipping Christians and church leaders, they have also increased punishment against them in recent years.”
The US State Department has repeatedly condemned violations of human rights and religious freedom in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
