40 years of Islam in Iran? Phooey!

Today, International Christian Concern (ICC) submitted the names of three Iranian judges and the infamous Evin Prison to the US Treasury for consideration of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act. The names submitted are Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh, Judge Mohammed Moghiseh, Judge Ahmad Zargar, and Evin Prison itself.

February 11 marks the 40-year anniversary of the founding of the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. Since then, Iran has been ruled by elites who have fused hardline Islam with governance. Christians are viewed as a national security threat and prosecuted under these judges and then imprisoned in the infamous Evin Prison, commonly referred to as the “torture factory.”

These three Revolutionary Court judges, and Evin Prison, have a long record of human rights abuses toward Iranian Christians. The judges are responsible for convicting Christians on trumped up charges. They wield Iran’s legal system as a systemic tool of repression against religious minorities. Often, when Christians stand firm in their faith, Iran’s judges send them to the notorious Evin Prison, located on the outskirts of Tehran. Stories of those who survived Evin Prison are heartbreaking; the wide variety of abuse faced by inmates is chilling.

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “For the last 40 years, Iran has sought to control the souls of its citizens through hardline Islamic judges and the threat of incarceration at Evin Prison. Christians have faced degrading and inhumane treatment for no other reason than their faith. Yet, despite this intense persecution, they firmly held onto their faith. In response, these judges have only strengthened their resolve to further crack down on all practice of Christianity.”  

ICC tracked these religious freedom violations in order to build the legal background for the Magnitsky submission. The Global Magnitsky Act is a powerful legal tool which specifically targets individuals and entities to be sanctioned for human rights violations. The original legal framework passed in 2012 which specifically targeted Eastern European perpetrators. The act was later expanded to include all global perpetrators of human rights violations. For more information on the act, please visit the Treasury Department.

Matias Perttula, ICC’s Advocacy Director, said, “The Global Magnitsky Act is a monumental piece of bipartisan legislation that empowered the fight for human rights around the world in a brand new way. This legal tool empowers the US government and the civil society community to target individuals and entities guilty of oppressing people and violating their God-given human rights with the full force of the United States sanctions capabilities.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org, 301-859-3842

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

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