Afghanistan is among worst religious freedom violators globally
In its recently released 2022 Annual Report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said the overall human rights situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated significantly after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 but that it was particularly “calamitous” for religious minorities. The report shared that Christians “faced harassment, detention and even death due to their faith or beliefs,” highlighting how Christian converts were forced “to practice their faith in hiding due to fear of reprisal and threats from the Taliban.
The situation regressed so much that Afghanistan should be added again to the US list of “Countries of Particular Concern,” defined as engaging in “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”, USCIRF said. It also recommended that the Taliban should be re-designated as an “entity of particular concern”. If the US government decides to follow the advice, these designations give it legal authority to impose sanctions.
The recommendation is in line with findings of Open Doors researchers that led Afghanistan to take over the No. 1 spot on the 2022 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. Read the full article here.
Two Women Converts Start Prison Sentences
Two Iranian women converts, one of whom recently got married, have started prison sentences because of activities relating to their Christian faith [Article18].
The Christians were sentenced in August 2020 to between two and five years in prison for “acting against national security” by belonging to a house-church and “spreading Zionist Christianity”. Ramin was given a five-year sentence, Moslem four years, and Mehri and Saeede two years.
Both Fariba Dalir and Sakine (Mehri) Behjati started their sentences on Easter Saturday, April 16th. Dalir will spend two years in Evin Prison in Iran’s capital Tehran, while Behjati is serving a two-year sentence in Lakan Prison in the northern city of Rasht.
The cases against both women highlight how unpredictable justice in Iran is. In February an appeals court acquitted nine Christian converts and members of a house church who had been imprisoned on similar charges, saying they found “insufficient evidence” to support the charges.
In a report to the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, said he was concerned about the “continued repression of religious minorities”, including at least 53 Christians who had been arrested between 1 January and 1 December 2021 for practicing their faith. Read the full article here.
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About Open Doors Canada
Open Doors Open Doors Canada is affiliated with Open Doors International, a global ministry that has supported and strengthened persecuted Christians in over 60 countries for over 60 years. ODI raised approximately US $70 million last year to provide practical support to persecuted Christians such as food, medicines, trauma care, legal assistance, safe houses, and schools, as well as spiritual support through Christian literature, training, and resources. For more information visit opendoorscanada.org.