Several Arrested on Charges of 'Religious Deviation' by IRGC Intelligence

On Tuesday, August 3, the Mehr News Agency reported the arrest of a 'wide network' of individuals described as 'religiously deviant' by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran. According to the report, the IRGC's intelligence agency in Tehran arrested these individuals in three cities: Tehran, Rey, and Pardis. The report only mentions the arrest of a 'wide network' without specifying the exact number of detainees. It also does not clarify the meaning of 'religious deviation.' However, it is noted that the detainees were accused of 'promoting and propagating missionary Christianity and house churches,' which allegedly led to 'the destruction of Abrahamic religions and public confusion in both physical and virtual spaces.' Mehr News states that 'among the documents obtained from this wide network of religious deviants, various sects' books, networking methods, recruitment strategies, connections with foreigners, and the undermining of the Islamic faith and other religions were found.' The report indicates that these arrests were made 'through a series of complex intelligence operations,' and 'a number of the accused, along with the discovered documents, were arrested and handed over to judicial authorities.' Kiarash Alipour, spokesperson for the 'Article 18 Organization for the Defense of Christians in Iran,' told Radio Farda, 'We have not yet received an independent report from inside the country regarding this specific news. There is a possibility that the images published are from the past... Of course, the Iranian government is concerned about the growth of Christianity in Iran. For this reason, we are witnessing increased pressure from the IRGC on Christians in Iran, especially Persian-speaking churches.' The treatment of religious minorities, particularly Christian converts mentioned in this report, has a long-standing history in Iran, and human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about it. For instance, the 'International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran' expressed concern about the long prison sentences for several Christian converts in the past two months. In its statement, it emphasized that the Iranian constitution recognizes Christians as an official minority, yet the Islamic Republic continues to prosecute believers of this faith, especially converts. In this context, on July 3, the 26th branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Youssef Naderkhani, Mohammad Reza Omidi, Mohammad Ali Mosibzadeh, and Zaman Fadaei to ten years in prison each for 'forming a house church' and 'promoting what is called Zionist Christianity.' In the past month, eight other Christians and Christian converts have also been sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison on similar charges in the same court branch. On Monday, August 2, the IRGC's intelligence agency in Isfahan announced the arrest of eight members and supporters of what it called the 'deviant network of Erfan Halqa' in Shahinshahr. A week earlier, on July 27, the IRGC in Isfahan reported the arrest of '11 members and supporters of the deviant network of Erfan Halqa in Najafabad.' Mohammad Ali Taheri founded an organization called 'Erfan Halqa' in 2001, engaging in activities related to 'Iranian complementary medicine, energy healing, and Scientology.' He was arrested in 2011, and the initial sentence issued against him was 'death.' His long imprisonment continues, and his supporters continue to protest against this imprisonment and death sentence.