Iran is cracking down on Christians with harsher jail sentences, Christian teams have warned.
It reveals that the size of jail sentences elevated sixfold in 2024 in comparison with 2023, with 96 Christians being sentenced to a complete of 263 years.
This contrasts with 2023, when 22 Christians have been sentenced to only over 43 years in jail.
The warning is available in a brand new report by human rights group Article 18 in collaboration with Open Doorways, CSW and Center East Concern.
“Every arrest was carried out by IRGC intelligence brokers, who sought to cost them beneath a provision throughout the amended Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, which requires the utmost punishment of as much as 10 years’ imprisonment in circumstances the place the person has obtained ‘monetary or organisational assist from outdoors the nation’,” notes the report, titled ‘The Tip of the Iceberg’.
It additionally attracts on knowledge from a leaked tranche of over 3 million case recordsdata from the Iranian judiciary from between 2008 and 2023, together with recordsdata regarding over 300 Christians.
The Christian organisations say that evaluation of the recordsdata factors to rising efforts to suppress Christians.
They discovered that Iran treats the Bible as contraband and proof of a criminal offense, and vilifies Christians as members of a “sect” who’re a risk to nationwide safety, resulting in costs for atypical spiritual actions.
The evaluation additional reveals how Christians are being criminalised for his or her religion and that those that are interrogated by the authorities are sometimes pressured to recant their religion.
Final 12 months, a number of Christians obtained prolonged sentences linked to the follow of their religion, together with 5 Christians who have been handed 10-year jail phrases and one other who was sentenced to fifteen years.
The report says, “The Iranian authorities appears to have intensified its efforts to isolate and financially undermine the Christian group as a part of a broader technique to suppress its development and affect.
“Making monetary donations, charitable choices, or paying tithes to assist church actions are normal practices for Christians worldwide, however such actions have been criminalised by Iran’s Revolutionary Courts.”
