ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two Assyrian Iranians have been denied appeals by Tehran courts for jail sentences related to the practicing of Christianity, a human rights watchdog reported on Sunday.
Shamiran Issavi, 65, and her husband Pastor Victor Bet Tamraz, 66, are expected to serve out their respective five and ten year sentences, according to Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The two were individually convicted in January 2018 and July 2017 in the Iranian capital on charges related to the practicing of their Christian faith, including "illegal church activities" which "threaten national security."
While on paper Iran's Constitution provides religious freedom "within the limits of the law," members of minority religious groups in the Islamic Republic regularly face religious persecution and discrimination.
According to Amnesty International, Christians in Iran have been a target of “harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, unfair trials, and imprisonment on national security-related charges solely because of their faith.” Holding church services in the majority language of Farsi is illegal, and places of worship have been closed by authorities, often with the arrests of their leaders.
Bet Tamraz was informed that his appeal had been denied on July 19, while Issavi received her summons on August 11 to report to Tehran’s Evin Prison, according to a statement from the Assyrian Policy Institute. It is unclear whether the two have begun their prison sentences.
The couple’s convictions cite the hosting of private Christmas gatherings and church services in their home, as well as travelling abroad to attend Christian seminars, reads the Institute's statement.
“Family members fear for their safety should they be forced to serve, particularly in light of an outbreak of COVID-19 at Evin Prison. If imprisoned, Bet Tamraz and Issavi would be prisoners of conscience,” the statement adds.
Iranian Christians make up less than 1% of the country's current population, numbering around 800,000, according to the World Christian Database. Roughly 50,000 Assyrians remain in Iran, the Assyrian Policy Institute estimates, with most living in Tehran.
"Over the 2020 World Watch List (WWL) reporting period, there were at least 169 arrests of Christians, 114 of them made in one single week at the end of 2018," according to international Christian mission Open Doors.
Related: Christian converts leave Iran for Turkey, claiming persecution
Converts from Islam face particularly severe persecution, Open Doors adds.
"Many Iranian believers (especially converts) have been prosecuted and sentenced to long terms in jail. Others are still awaiting trial. Their families face public humiliation during this time."
