The 2023 annual report from London-based organization Article18 reveals a growing number of Christians arrested in Iran last year, rising from 134 to 166 since 2022.
The report, titled “Faceless victims: violations of the rights of Christians in Iran”‘co-published with Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern, highlights the plight of many victims whose identities remain secret for fear of making their situation worse.
The arrests occurred in waves throughout the year. “Just a handful of arrests were reported before June, then more than a hundred over the next three months, before a new wave of arrests at Christmas,” the report said, highlighting the sudden rise in persecution that is occurring. confronted the Christian community.
“At least 17 of the Christians arrested over the summer were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three months to five years, or non-custodial sentences such as fines, flogging and, in one case, community service consisting of digging graves,” the researchers said.
Only two people, Elisa Shahverdian and her husband, Hakop Gochumyan, were identified among those arrested over the summer, with Gochumyan still detained in Evin Prison.
Even upon release from prison, harassment continues, the report says, with seven different types of post-prison pressures listed, including continued surveillance, denial of employment and education, new charges or reopening of cases. All of this “makes it increasingly difficult for Christians to stay in Iran.”
Like many fleeing the regime, the report notes that “many (Christians) are fleeing…only to find themselves facing new challenges as refugees.”
Bible distributors are among the most harassed targets, with “more than a third of arrests targeting individuals in possession of multiple copies.”
The Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, are the only legal religions in Shiite-majority Iran, but Sunni minority Muslims, the Jews and Christians continue to be persecuted. Other minorities like the 300,000 people Bahai community, face systematic persecution.
