Christian Post | Samuel Smith | August 18, 2020
The parents of an Iranian Christian who met with President Donald Trump last year in the Oval Office have lost their appeals of years-long prison sentences for operating and participating in house church meetings.
The human rights watchdog Article 18 reports that Assyrian-Iranians Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and his wife, Shamiram Isavi, were informed that they have lost their appeals and have been summoned to begin their sentences as both were out on bail.
In 2017, Tamraz, the pastor of a Pentecostal congregation in Tehran, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was arrested during a Christmas celebration in 2014 and spent 65 days in solitary confinement. He was accused of acting against national security by conducting house church meetings and evangelizing.
Meanwhile, Isavi was sentenced to five years in prison in 2018 on charges of “membership of a group with the purpose of disrupting national security” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security.”
“Pastor Bet-Tamraz and Shamiram Isavi are innocent of the charges brought against them, but like other Christians in their position, they have been convicted for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief,” Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of the London-based humanitarian nonprofit Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said in a statement.
“CSW urges the Iranian authorities to end the effective criminalization of Christian practices, to dismiss these charges and to release all who are detained on account of their religion or beliefs.”
Article 18, a London-based nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of religious freedom issues in Iran, reports that Isavi was informed on Aug. 11 that she is to report to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison to begin her sentence.
The watchdog added that Tamraz’s lawyer called on July 19 to inform him that not only was the appeal rejected but also that he can no longer appeal the sentence. It’s unclear whether Isavi will be able to appeal further, and fears are that she, too, will have no more appeal options since their cases were merged last year by a new judge.
Since being sentenced, the couple has had multiple appeal hearings postponed for different reasons. The couple was supposed to have a hearing on June 1, but that was canceled as well without their lawyers being allowed in the room where the decision to cancel had been made, according to Article 18.
Tamraz was sentenced along with two other Christian converts but it’s unclear whether those converts will also be ordered to prison.
In February, the couple’s son, Ramiel Bet Tamraz, was released from prison three months early after he was jailed for “spreading Christian propaganda.”
The couple’s daughter, Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, was among a group of participants in the July 2019 U.S. State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom who met with Trump in the Oval Office. She asked Trump to advocate for her family members the next time he negotiates with the Iranian leadership.
