ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Four Iranian Christians have been targeted with 45 years in prison by local authorities "solely for practicing their faith," according to an international human rights organization.
Amnesty International called for the prosecutor general in Tehran and head of the judiciary to "Quash the convictions and sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Issavi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari."
Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and Shamiram Issavi are ethnic Assyrians, while Amin Afshar-Naderi and Hadi Asgari are Christian converts. They each have been sentenced to 5-15 years in prison.
They were sentenced at separate times. Authorities charged them with conducting "illegal church activities" which "threaten national security."
Bet-Tamraz and Afshar-Naderi were arrested on December 26, 2014, during a private Christmas gathering, according to Amnesty. They were convicted in July 2017 of “forming a group composed of more than two people with the purpose of disrupting national security.”
Afshar-Naderi's sentence was extended five years for "insulting Islamic sanctities" for sharing a Facebook post that mocked in Quranic writing a sharp rise of the price of chicken in Iran.
Issavi was summoned to Evin Prison in June 2017. She was sentenced to five years in prison in January for “membership of a group with the purpose of disrupting national security” and another five years in prison for “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security."
Amnesty called on Iranian authorities to "Stop the harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and imprisonment of Christians, including converts, in Iran."
It noted that Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that protects freedom of religion and the right to change religion or worship.
All are free on bail, but awaiting a verdict by an appellate court.
"If imprisoned, they would be prisoners of conscience," stated Amnesty.
Among the 25 most populous countries in the world, the Pew Research Center ranked Iran ahead of Myanmar/Burma and China in terms of government restrictions on religious freedom from 2007-2016.
