IRAN – Mass arrests of evangelical Christians

Executive summary

In the last six months over 200 Iranian Christians have been detained, with arrests being recorded in 24 cities.

CSW has serious concerns for the wellbeing of all Christian detainees in Iran due to the passing of the first judicial death sentence since 1990 for apostasy against Pastor Nadarkhani in September 20101; recent high profile cases of extended periods of detention for religious detainees, including the detention of evangelical Christians Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Esmaeilabad on charges of apostasy, crimes against the state and propagating religion in the Revolutionary Court,2 and the ongoing trial of seven Baha’i leaders accused of propaganda activities against the Islamic order, “corruption on earth” and other allegations.

In addition, reports of extra-judicial killings of political dissidents in prisons across Iran, increased governmental and clerical rhetoric that has included public assertions of the arrest of religious minorities and targeting of their members, the ongoing use of solitary confinement, psychological torture and physical intimidation to threaten detainees and obtain written and verbal evidence against them, as well as a total absence of judicial process for those arbitrarily detained, engender grave concerns for all held.

While some Christians have been released, repeated cycles of arrest with escalating charges against all those detained, and against others on whom information is uncovered, provide no guarantee that further arrests will not occur.

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