Persecution | Claire Evans | February 10, 2020
Last February, International Christian Concern (ICC) requested that the United States Treasury Department issue Global Magnitsky sanctions against Iran’s Evin Prison, an entity with a known human rights abuse record. The following report details a casefile summary of the documentary evidence ICC submitted to the US Treasury Department. Names of victims have been withheld for security reasons. Details contained in the report involve cases documented between 2016 and 2018.
Country Background
Iran is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights. These documents affirm that religious freedom is a key component of human rights and Iran’s constitution verifies that Christians are a protected religious minority. However, the public practice of Christianity is severely restricted and Muslims who convert to Christianity (Muslim-background believers, or MBBs) are not recognized as legitimate Christians.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Annual Report for 2018 lists Iran as Tier 1 Country of Particular Concern. Shia Islam is the official religion in Iran and the country’s penal code is written in a manner which opens the door to religious persecution. Through key judicial leaders in Iran, religious minorities are regularly targeted and denied their human right to freely practice their religion.