Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo: Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Iran is releasing a large number of prisoners, including Christians sentenced for evangelism, as the coronavirus crisis escalates in the region.
Christianity Today reported that a temporary release of about 85,000 prisoners to curb the spread of COVID-19 disease included Ramiel Bet Tamraz, an Assyrian Christian serving a four-month sentence for holding church meetings the country deemed ‘illegal’.
He was one of seven Christians set free, some on bail, according to the news source.
Islam is the religion of 99.4% of Iranians, and it is currently illegal to distribute Christian literature in the country’s official language, Persian.
Muslims who change their faith to Christianity are subject to societal and official pressure which may lead to the death penalty.
Qatari state-funded broadcaster Aljazeera revealed Thursday that COVID-19 has killed at least 2,234 people in Iran and the number of confirmed cases in the country is approaching 30,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Article18, a non-profit organisation based in London, dedicated to the protection and promotion of religious freedom in Iran and advocating on behalf of its persecuted Christians reported that Fatemeh (Aylar) Bakhteri, 36, was given a temporary furlough, though details of the terms of her release are yet to emerge.
She was sentenced for “propaganda” against the government after earlier refusing pressure from judges to renounce her Christian faith. Barnabas Fund says her Christian activities led to her being convicted.
It is also believed that Majidreza Souzanchi, 36, who is coming to the end of his two-year sentence, has been or is soon to be released.
On 26 February, Article18 reports that Christian convert Fatemeh (Mary) Mohammadi, 21, was released on a bail of 30 million tomans ($2,250), pending a court hearing five days later, which was later postponed to 14 April.
Three more Christian converts were given 36 days’ leave from prison on 2 March, according to Article18. They include: Rokhsareh (Mahrokh) Ghanbari, 62, Amin Khaki, 36, and another Christian convert who the organisation said cannot be identified.
Serving a 10-year sentence for establishing house churches, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh’s length of term made him ineligible for the coronavirus release, according to Christianity Today.
Open Doors, which ranks Iran No. 9 among the world’s worst persecutors of Christians, reports at least 169 Christians were arrested from November 2018 to October 2019.
Despite the above report, Iran’s government denies that religious minorities face repression. The nation’s President Hassan Rouhani has claimed that “Christians have the same rights as others do,” according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
