Christian convert says he would face death if deported to Iran

Feb 16, 2020 by

from Christian Concern:

A Christian asylum seeker who faces the prospect of imprisonment, torture and separation from his English wife and child because of his faith has re-launched his bid for asylum to the Home Office.

Reza Karkah has good reason to believe he would be executed by authorities and exposed to vigilante violence if deported to Iran. According to the Open Doors World Watch List, the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the worst countries in the world for violations of Freedom of Religion or belief, especially for Christians.

The case, supported by the Christian Legal Centre and backed by expert witnesses, exposes extraordinary assumptions made by Home Office officials that Mr Karkah as a Christian convert would not face any risk of persecution if returned to Iran.

In a tribunal judgment on Mr Karkah’s case by the Home Office in 2018, for example, it was judged that if he was deported it would not ‘expose him to a real act of persecution’. This is despite the fact that Mr Karkah’s Christian baptism alone would be punishable by death under Sharia Law in Iran.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “Reza Karkah is the real deal. A courageous man transformed by the gospel and the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“At stake here is not just the life of Reza, but also his equally brave yet vulnerable wife, and their beautiful daughter.

“We see in this case, and many others, that the Home Office has not properly understood the nature of Christian faith or the scale of the challenges faced by Christians in Iran.

“We call on the Home Office to grant Reza asylum and for the government to address the ignorance of Christianity demonstrated in its asylum assessments and procedures”.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, theologian and expert on international Christian persecution, said: “I have met Reza and Leigh. They both seem entirely sincere in their Christian faith and life.

“We continue to encourage the authorities in Iran to respect fundamental freedoms but it remains a dangerous place for Christian converts from Islam and Reza is at real risk of losing his liberty or even his life, whether judicially or extra judicially and deserves protection for himself and for the sake of his young family”.

The story has broken in today’s Sunday Times and there is a lot more to come.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/…/christian-convert-says-he-woul…

Related Posts

Tags

Share This