Displaying items by tag: fair trials

Friday, 14 February 2020 10:00

Iran: UN demands Iran give Christians fair trials

Four UN human experts on human rights, freedom of religion, minority issues and the right to health have issued a joint statement, urging Iran to ensure ‘a fair and transparent final hearing’ at the court for three Iranian Christians sentenced for ‘conducting evangelism’ and ‘illegal house church activities,’ among other charges. The experts have expressed concern over last year's sentencing of Pastor Tamraz, an Assyrian Pentecostal leader, and of Amin Afshar Naderi and Hadi Asgari, house-church Christians. They were given between 10 and 15 year prison sentences. In November the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, called on Christian leaders to intervene for the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been held in an Iranian prison since 2016 (see). The Revolutionary Court was due to hold a hearing on 9 February; the outcome is not yet known.

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