More than 20 Christians have been arrested in Iran as part of a crackdown on religious freedom following the agreement of a ceasefire between Iran, Israel and the United States.
Charges brought against believers by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence have not been made public, but several are believed to centre around the possession of Bibles as well as a newly proposed law that threatens brutal repercussions for working with what the regime brands “hostile states”, including the US and Israel.
According to Open Doors, laws like this are regularly used to target Christian converts who are branded as “Zionists” or members of “deviant sects”.
Iranian judges have also previously described Christianity as undermining Islamic values and in alignment with their Western enemies, further fuelling persecution.
Furthermore, prison conditions for believers in Iran have worsened following recent airstrikes. Some have been transferred to other prisons from the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran and are being held in horrendous conditions, but the whereabouts of others remains unknown.
A group of United Nations experts recently released a statement expressing concern about how members of religious minority groups are being treated in Iran. They said: “Post-conflict situations must not be used as an opportunity to suppress dissent and increase repression.
“Following the ceasefire, the world is watching closely to see how Iranian authorities treat their own people. This will be a defining measure of the country’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law.”
