A group of Christian members of Parliament of England released the results of their research on “harassment of Christian converts in Iran” in a ceremony held in British Parliament.
According to Mohabat News correspondent in London, after some months of study and investigation on the “current situation and harassment of Christian converts in Iran”, a group of Christian members of the British Parliament released the outcome of their studies in the form of a report and presented it in a ceremony held on October 29.
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The report explains the harassment and persecution of Iranian Christian converts to be the “most serious of its kind”. According to the report, Evangelical Christians face constant threat, arrest, harassment and unjust courts and are forced to pay heavy bails.
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The report was presented in a ceremony in the Parliament building in London, England where British Parliament members, Human Rights activists and representatives of churches and Christian ministries were in attendance.
Some parts of the report prepared by British Parliament members were based on direct interviews with eye-witnesses and Christian converts who themselves were victims of Christian persecution by the Islamic regime of Iran. Also, the report included sections taken from reliable Iranian and foreign sources and different organizations that helped the group to prepare the documentary report.
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At the end, the Christian members of the British Parliament called on the British government, European Parliament, United Nations and other related institutions to require the Islamic government of Iran to fulfill its responsibility for implementing its legal commitments to honor Christians’ and religious minorities’ rights. They also pleaded for them to support the UN’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran to claim rights of Iranian Christians.
Mr. Ahmad Shaheed, the UN’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, was also present and discussed some issues on Iranian Christians with informed individuals.
As a part of the ceremony, an Iranian Christian who had been arrested for his beliefs in Iran told his story of days in prison and how security authorities and interrogators treated him there. He told of his hopes and disappointments and how he was feeling revived hearing that outside those walls his brothers and sisters are praying for him.
– Continuous Violation of Religious Minorities’ Rights in Iran
In his third report, Mr. Shaheed stated that “systematic and broad violation” of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic is continuing.
One part of his 23-page report addressed discrimination against religious minorities in Iran. As Mr. Shaheed said in his report, Christians, Sunni Muslims and Dervishes face discrimination and harassment in Iran.
He added, “300 Christians have been arrested since mid-2010”.
Since Mr. Shaheed was appointed as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran on January 2011, he has not been allowed to visit Iran. Islamic Republic officials do not allow him to visit the country.
Also, Mr. John Baird, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, strongly criticized the violation of Human Rights in Iran in the International Inter-parliamentary Summit held in Quebec.
Addressing 1400 Parliament Members from different countries, Mr. Baird said religious minorities’ rights, especially those of Christians and Baha’is, are not respected in Iran. They constantly face death and arrest threats just because of their faith”.
