Increased Pressure on Christians in Iran; An Armenian Citizen Held by the Ministry of Intelligence

An Iranian-Armenian Christian has reported to the human rights organization Article 18 that he and his wife were arbitrarily arrested and detained by agents of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence in August of this year. Elisa Shahverdian, who has been temporarily released on a bail of two billion tomans, told Article 18 that her husband, Hakop Gouchoumian, remains in prison and is under interrogation and pressure. According to reports received by Article 18, this Christian couple, who traveled to Iran with their two children to visit family and friends, were arrested on August 15 when they were invited to a dinner at the home of an Iranian couple in the city of Pardis, located northeast of Tehran, by a raid of 12 agents from the Ministry of Intelligence. The agents confiscated several Christian books and personal belongings during the search of the house. The human rights organization Article 18 states that these Armenian citizens have been imprisoned for weeks in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison without being informed of the charges against them or having access to a lawyer, and have been subjected to severe psychological torture and prolonged interrogations lasting between two to five hours each time. Elisa Shahverdian, the daughter of Rafi Shahverdian, a well-known priest who was active in various activities of the Iranian Evangelical Church before immigrating to Armenia, has stated to Article 18 that she and her husband have not engaged in any activities that the government would consider "illegal Christian activities." According to this report, the Islamic Republic has closed Persian-speaking churches and attacks the homes of Christians and house churches, targeting and arresting converts. Anoushavan Odian is another Christian citizen who has been imprisoned in Evin since late September 2023 to serve a ten-year sentence for peaceful religious activities. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly criticized the violation of the rights of religious minorities in Iran and the repression of individuals due to their beliefs in its human rights reports. In May of this year, the Commission published its annual 90-page report on the state of religious freedoms worldwide, recommending that the Biden administration reclassify the Islamic Republic as one of the "countries of particular concern." This report supports referring Iran's case to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by Islamic Republic officials. Since the 1979 Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the scope of freedom of expression in Iran has narrowed, and religious and ethnic minorities have faced extensive restrictions, leading many Jews, Baha'is, Christians, and those with differing thoughts and views from the government to leave their homeland due to discriminatory laws against citizens. The Revolutionary Court sentenced a "supporter of the Circle of Mysticism" to five years in prison. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stated that mandatory hijab in Iran is a violation of human rights. The U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom expressed concern over the increasing pressure on religious minorities in Iran. The Religious Freedom Institute has urged Congress to grant asylum to Iranian religious minorities in the U.S.