| Islam In The News Sept. '08 |
IRAN -Ratification of the apostasy bill
Sep. 12, 2008 FCNN - London
The first reading of the infamous apostasy bill was ratified by a clean majority in the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This de facto is the beginning of the end of religious and human rights in Iran and puts the hundreds of thousands of Muslim background believers at the imminent risk of death by hanging. This is Islamic justice in truth.
APOSTASY BILL The approval of three important bills in the Iranian Islamic Parliament at Tuesday's session has brought agreement in principle to laws relating to support of the family, Islamic punishment and internet crime. Two clauses in the family support bill, which have raised much disagreement and caused conflict, have been approved with 171 votes for, 42 votes against and 7 abstentions. According to the parliamentary internal procedures once the approval has been given in principle to this bill, MPs then discuss and investigate the detail, and in many cases they will suggest corrections, additions, alterations or deletions to the bill.
This bill was submitted by the judiciary of Iran for investigation and approval through Islamic Parliament of Iran has now been presented to the government. The government has added two new clauses to the family support bill which are:
Clauses 23 and 25 relate to the removal of the condition that a first wife gives permission for a second marriage and the taxation of dowries. Clauses 23 and 25 have raised more protests and criticism from activists dealing with women's rights and in the sphere of society and policy, as well as some varying views even from the Chairman of the Judiciary and even some Islamic Clerics. Clause 23 has nullified the required agreement by a first wife before a man may take a second wife as well as asking judicial permission. At the same time with the approval of clause no 25 of this bill tax will be applied to the dowry of women.
On Monday the Speaker of the Legal and Judiciary Committee of the Parliament announced that clauses 23 and 25 of the Family Support bill, which faced a lot of argument, has been deleted in the Committee meeting. The deletion of this clause has caused a reaction by Ali Motahari, an MP from Tehran, in a public meeting at Parliament on Tuesday, and he has given a warning to the Speaker of the Parliament. He said "Polygamy is the honour of Islam. If you remove this it means that you are going to promote immorality while the government in this bill was aiming to prevent the promotion of immorality".
Mr Motahari said that agreement of a first wife to a man's remarriage is against Islamic law and will damage the reputation of the Parliament if you are affected by those against it.
According to Islamic State News Agency propaganda this MP said that whatever had happened in the Judicial Commission against this bill was not dignifying for the 8th Parliament because when a bill comes to the Commission the general principle behind the bill needs to be investigated and the Commission should not change that. Ali Larijani the Speaker of the Parliament in response to his notification said "this is not the passivity of Parliament but rather the comments of Qom clerics and we need to respect these experts".
Perpetuating the Islamic Punishment Law
Another important bill, which was approved in the public meeting of the Islamic Parliament, was the bill of Islamic Punishment Law. According to Farsi Christian News Network, who refer to Radio Farda, one of the important bills which has been approved in the public meeting of the Islamic Parliament of Iran was the bill of Islamic Punishment Law. Some parts of the bill have been criticised by political and social activists. The Islamic Punishment Law has 428 clauses regarding different Islamic punishments with one of its urgent clauses having been approved in December 2007. This law had been temporarily approved 17 years ago and after completing a trial period several times Parliamentary approval had been postponed. This bill has now been presented to parliament for passage as a permanent law. One important clause gives authority to the Iranian secular courts to convict Iranians living outside their country if they do something that affects Iranian national security. In recent years many Iranians have left Islam and converted to other religions, particularly Christianity and, although the sentence under sharia law is death, until now there had been no written law relating to this.
What we need to know about the Islamic Punishment Law Bill
According to FCNN, and according to some experts in Islamic Punishment Law, there are a number of crimes reduced for which previously execution had previously been the punishment, but there were also a number that have increased. The new crimes that have been included are: witchcraft; heresy in religion, and; fortune telling, which was previously banned but not considered a crime. Under the new law these are not only considered as a crime but are punishable by death.
Under the law dealing with apostates, the opportunity to return to (Islamic) faith has been considered, but in this approved bill one added item specifies the execution of apostates without any opportunity for them to return. "Islam is probably the only important religion in the world in which conversion to another religion is punishable by death". Under Sharia law the death sentence is a normal verdict for an apostate man, one who converts from one religion (in this case Islam) to another, or even for someone from a Muslim background. Until now under the Islamic Punishment Law and other penal laws in Iran there has been no clear and exclusive clause about apostasy and, in issuing any death sentence, the courts have only referred to Sharia law and Fatwa texts. It seems that the writers, and those who have approved the general principle of this new bill about punishment, have tried to specify a new separate clause to deal with apostasy in order to help judges in sentencing male apostates to death. In this way the legislature have responded to what they have identified as this important necessity.
Two clauses of Islamic Punishment Law
Clause 224 of the approved bill of the Islamic Parliament asserts that the punishment for swearing about and insulting Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, Fatima and the Sh'ite Imams is the sentence of death. According to the judicial authority of Iran clause 225 is based on 6 explicit Sura (chapters) of the Koran and the traditions of Mohammad, the Sh'ite Imams and the Fatwas of most consensus Sh'ite clerics. Now apostasy is divided in to "national" apostasy and "intrinsic" apostasy. For male apostates the death sentence has been designated and for female apostates it is lifetime imprisonment. Clause 225 has defined the "intrinsic" apostate as someone for whom one of his parents was Muslim, or became Muslim after puberty, but then later left or declined Islam. Such a person is defined as an "intrinsic" apostate. For both kinds of apostasy the sentence is death but a "national" apostate may be given three days opportunity to repent and return to Islam. In the issue of apostasy in Sharia law and in Islamic punishment bill women have got advantages to men. In case of national and intrinsic apostasy they will not be executed but will receive a life sentence. If while in prison they repent they will be freed.
In February 2006 Slovani (name not recognised) the Head of the European Union declared that clause 225 of this bill is explicitly and clearly against the Islamic Republic of Iran's commitment to international conventions on human rights. He asked that the Iranian authorities, both in government and the Parliament, moderate this bill for the sake of the respect to this commitment. Abbas Abadi, a journalist in Tehran, has written in an article "because of the addition of this new Islamic punishment law on apostasy and the designation of the death sentence we need to ask that 'during these 30 years who was there that had to be executed in the absence of this apostasy law that means you now want to add this new bill to the law so that you can execute them?' We can conclude that, by legitimising the death sentence for apostasy in new bill of punishment law the Islamic regime of Iran is showing their fear of non-Islamic tendencies in Iranian society and that they approve and confirm that in last three decades important parts of Iranian society, because of the disappointment with the government have tended to lean towards other religions and other non-religious attitudes. The question that we need to raise is what necessity compels the Iranian regime to legitimise this penalty for Muslim-born people who reject Islam and convert."
Iranian Martyr's Son Detained in Wave of Arrests
Four other Christians arrested as apparent crackdown continues.
Special to Compass Direct News
LOS ANGELES, September 10 (Compass Direct News) – Five arrests in three cities across Iran in August suggest a continued crackdown on Iranian Christians by authorities, sources told Compass.
The most recent of the arrests took place on Aug. 21, when Ramtin Soodmand, son of martyred Assemblies of God pastor Hossein Soodmand, turned himself in after repeated calls from the Ministry of Information in Tehran. His father was executed by the state in 1990 for leaving Islam.
Sources told Compass that for weeks Soodmand had received repeated calls from authorities telling him to travel from Mashhad, where he lives, to Tehran. Yielding to pressure, Soodmand surrendered himself to the media center of the Ministry of Information at 9 a.m. on Aug. 21 but was not heard of until 3 p.m. of the next day. He has remained in detention since then.
Shortly after his detention, Soodmand's wife, Mitra, tried to visit her husband and was told to come back later. "Your husband is going to be in jail for a very long time," sources reported that authorities told her.
Soodmand has been able to make only one phone call – to his mother, who is blind, on Aug. 23. He told her that he was fine, but authorities did not allow him to call his wife, sources said.
Last week Soodmand's wife and two young children were finally allowed to visit him in Tehran. When they arrived, however, they found that they could only speak with him through a phone receiver and never saw him.
In the two-minute conversation, Soodmand told his wife several times, "I am fine, don't worry," sources reported. No other family members or friends have been allowed to see or speak to Soodmand. Neither his condition nor where he is being held were clear.
Sources said that authorities have also not informed his family of the charges against him.
His father, the last Iranian Christian convert from Islam executed by the Iranian government, was accused of working as "an American spy." Since then six more Protestant pastors have been assassinated by unknown killers.
The week before Ramtin Soodmand turned himself in, another Christian in Mashhad, Iman Rashidi, was arrested. Rashidi's whereabouts and condition are unknown. Rooz, a Farsi news website, reported him as under 18 years old.
Kurdish Christian Awaits Trial
A Christian member of Iran's Kurdish community, Shahin Zanboori, was arrested on Aug. 9 in the southwestern city of Arak, located in the Central Province of Iran, bordering Iraq.
Secret police detained Zanboori while he was evangelizing, sources told Compass. He was tortured during interrogation and suffered a broken arm and leg.
While in jail he told sources that he "felt God's presence in spite of the horrific treatment he received." He described being handcuffed and suspended from the ceiling while police severely beat the soles of his feet to get him to confess to crimes and give the names of all the believers he knew, according to sources.
Authorities also confiscated Zanboori's computer and cell phone.
Zanboori was released on Aug. 31 to his father, who lives in Kermanshah. His trial date had been set for Monday (Sept. 8), but sources have yet to learn the outcome of the hearing. He is expected to be charged with spying for foreign powers – a less serious offense than "apostasy" (leaving Islam).
In the city of Kerman in south central Iran, a couple identified as Darioush and Shirin were reportedly arrested on Aug. 8. At press time nothing more was known about their case.
Under the past three decades of Iran's Islamist regime, hundreds of citizens who have left Islam and become Christians have been arrested for weeks or months, held in unknown locations and subjected to mental and physical torture.
Possible Reasons for Crackdown
One source who works closely with Iranian refugees believes that politics are one reason for Iran's crackdown on Christians.
"Christians are viewed as potential spies allied with Israel or America," he said, adding that the overwhelming number of Iranian Christians he counsels have been visited and intimidated by police, leading them to flee from Iran.
He also believes that the apparent explosion in the number of house churches frightens Iran's government.
"They see it as something they cannot control, so they are afraid of house churches," he said.
Another expert on Iran believes Christians outside of Iran who exaggerate the number of conversions and house churches are partly responsible for the growth of persecution. When Christians claim there are thousands of house churches throughout the country, he said, Iranian authorities feel threatened .
"They [the police] are obligated to crack down on Christian activities when these activities become too public," one Iranian Christian said.
LOS ANGELES, September 10 (Compass Direct News) – Two Iranian Christians have officially been charged with "apostasy," or leaving Islam, as a draft law making the death penalty mandatory for those convicted of the charge is set to be debated in Iran's Parliament.
Mahmood Matin Azad, 52, and Arash Basirat (previously reported Bandari), 44, have been in prison since May 15, when they were arrested in Shiraz. When their lawyer went to authorities to inquire about the case in early August, he was informed that the two men had been formally charged with apostasy, sources confirmed to Compass.
At that time authorities gave the lawyer an official document stating that the formal charge of "apostasy" was based on the men's confessions during interrogation. The "Interrogation Note – Investigator's Final Order" said that their "culpability order" was based on Article 214 of the penal code and sections of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's treatise on legal affairs, the Tahrir ol Vassileh. Iran's legal system is based on sharia (Islamic law).
Previous charges of "Propaganda Against the Islamic Republic of Iran" had been dropped, according to the statement.
Sources who spoke to the lawyer explained that authorities generally do not issue written statements, and that this was an indication of the severity and complexity of the case.
With the apostasy bill to be debated in Parliament, some Iranian Christians fear that authorities are seeking to make an example of the two prisoners or give the prospective law a "test run."
'Interesting and Sensitive'
In February the Iranian Parliament proposed a draft penal code that demands the death penalty for leaving Islam. Under current Iranian law, apostasy is considered a capital offense, but punishment is left to the discretion of the judge.
Basirat, who suffers from diabetes, and Matin are expected to appear in court within the next few weeks with their lawyer in order to defend their case. They would not officially be found guilty unless evidence presented at the hearing were incriminating.
Meantime, the families of Basirat and Matin have tried unsuccessfully to get the prisoners out on bail before the trial takes place. The last week of August the lawyer instructed Matin's wife to prepare a bail sum of around $40,000 to $50,000. But when the lawyer tried to get the necessary paperwork and signatures from the judge, the bail amount was denied.
Fearing that the bail amount may be doubled, the defense attorney told a source close to Matin's family that the case had become "interesting and sensitive" for the judge and authorities, and therefore they would not "let it go so easily."
Basirat's family also tried to release him on bail by offering the deed of their home, but authorities have not accepted it.
The defense team has suggested that the defendants seek that international pressure be brought to bear on Iranian authorities to release Basirat and Matin and clear their names of any wrongdoing.
After 3 months of detention by the security agents, two newly converted Christians were formally charged with the crime being an infidel by the judicial court of the province of Fars in Iran.
This incident coincides with the continuation of the recent wave of arrests and detentions of many other Iranian Christians in Iran that since the month of May have been rounded up by security forces of the government.
According to the reports received by FCNN, two Iranian Christian men, 53 years old Mahmood Matin-Azad and 40 years old Arash Basirat, were arrest on May 15, 2008 at a local Park by the security officers of the Ministry of Information.
Mahmood Matin-Azad and Arash Basirat were taken to a well known detention center, known as the Block 100, located on Sepah Street and the military square in the center of Shiraz and were placed in solitary confinement for a very long time. During this time, they were subjected to inhumane and extremely lengthy interrogations. On July 15, 2008, they were transferred to the general population of detainees in the prison.
During the 2 months of solitary confinement and the extreme physical and psychological pressures that were administered by the prison officials, and despite the fact that gradually the interrogations and other forms of torture were slowly decreased, the condition of these brother continued to deteriorate, especially Arash Basirat (Bandari) who has been suffering from diabetes.
And even though the families of these two men, on numerous occasions, tried to post bail in order to have them released into their custody, and in order to seek medical help for them, the government officials refused such requests on the grounds that these were sensitive cases.
According to the documents received by FCNN, the people's judicial and revolutionary court of the city of Shiraz and the Ministry of Information of /the province of Fars, and according to the section 214 of penal code and section 1 and 9 of Imam Khomeini's guidebook, called "Tahrir al Vasileh", subsection dealing with infidelity and turning from Islam to another faith, Mr. Matin Azad and Basirat were formally charged with religious treason and convicted as infidels. Other charges such as anti revolutionary activities, creating pubic confusion, publishing falsities, and insulting the founder of the Iranian revolution and the current designated supreme leader of the Islamic republic of Iran were added to their original criminal charges.
It is noteworthy to mention that leaving the Muslim faith, according to the tenants of Islamic beliefs, is considered strictly forbidden and such person is declared an infidel and it is permissible to shed the blood of such person. Even though the Iranian Judiciary has not yet codified such crimes in its penal codes, many courts rely on the religious law and precedence to administer justice to infidels.
According to the code 167 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a judge must pass judgment based on the existing penal rules and codes. In the event such rules and codes are not available, the judge must base his judgment on the available Islamic laws and Fatwas (verdicts issued by the religious clerics). Thus, the courts in Shiraz relied upon the writing of Khomieni to declare these two Iranian Christians as infidels.
Thus far, several such cases of people condemned as infidels, whose punishment is execution by hanging, have been made public and the many international human rights groups have voiced their concerns and protests to the government of Iran.
According to the charter of the Human Rights by the United Nations, and signed by all members of the United Nations, in section 18 of this charter it clearly states that all citizens of the nations belonging to the international body must have freedom of speech, thought, and religious beliefs and this freedom extends to those who wish to change their religious beliefs.
We ask all Christians, inside and outside of Iran, to remember these brothers and all others who are in similar conditions and to pray for their speedy release and return to their families and loved ones.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation.
Sep. 12, 2008 FCNN - London
The first reading of the infamous apostasy bill was ratified by a clean majority in the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This de facto is the beginning of the end of religious and human rights in Iran and puts the hundreds of thousands of Muslim background believers at the imminent risk of death by hanging. This is Islamic justice in truth.
APOSTASY BILL The approval of three important bills in the Iranian Islamic Parliament at Tuesday's session has brought agreement in principle to laws relating to support of the family, Islamic punishment and internet crime. Two clauses in the family support bill, which have raised much disagreement and caused conflict, have been approved with 171 votes for, 42 votes against and 7 abstentions. According to the parliamentary internal procedures once the approval has been given in principle to this bill, MPs then discuss and investigate the detail, and in many cases they will suggest corrections, additions, alterations or deletions to the bill.
This bill was submitted by the judiciary of Iran for investigation and approval through Islamic Parliament of Iran has now been presented to the government. The government has added two new clauses to the family support bill which are:
Clauses 23 and 25 relate to the removal of the condition that a first wife gives permission for a second marriage and the taxation of dowries. Clauses 23 and 25 have raised more protests and criticism from activists dealing with women's rights and in the sphere of society and policy, as well as some varying views even from the Chairman of the Judiciary and even some Islamic Clerics. Clause 23 has nullified the required agreement by a first wife before a man may take a second wife as well as asking judicial permission. At the same time with the approval of clause no 25 of this bill tax will be applied to the dowry of women.
On Monday the Speaker of the Legal and Judiciary Committee of the Parliament announced that clauses 23 and 25 of the Family Support bill, which faced a lot of argument, has been deleted in the Committee meeting. The deletion of this clause has caused a reaction by Ali Motahari, an MP from Tehran, in a public meeting at Parliament on Tuesday, and he has given a warning to the Speaker of the Parliament. He said "Polygamy is the honour of Islam. If you remove this it means that you are going to promote immorality while the government in this bill was aiming to prevent the promotion of immorality".
Mr Motahari said that agreement of a first wife to a man's remarriage is against Islamic law and will damage the reputation of the Parliament if you are affected by those against it.
According to Islamic State News Agency propaganda this MP said that whatever had happened in the Judicial Commission against this bill was not dignifying for the 8th Parliament because when a bill comes to the Commission the general principle behind the bill needs to be investigated and the Commission should not change that. Ali Larijani the Speaker of the Parliament in response to his notification said "this is not the passivity of Parliament but rather the comments of Qom clerics and we need to respect these experts".
Perpetuating the Islamic Punishment Law
Another important bill, which was approved in the public meeting of the Islamic Parliament, was the bill of Islamic Punishment Law. According to Farsi Christian News Network, who refer to Radio Farda, one of the important bills which has been approved in the public meeting of the Islamic Parliament of Iran was the bill of Islamic Punishment Law. Some parts of the bill have been criticised by political and social activists. The Islamic Punishment Law has 428 clauses regarding different Islamic punishments with one of its urgent clauses having been approved in December 2007. This law had been temporarily approved 17 years ago and after completing a trial period several times Parliamentary approval had been postponed. This bill has now been presented to parliament for passage as a permanent law. One important clause gives authority to the Iranian secular courts to convict Iranians living outside their country if they do something that affects Iranian national security. In recent years many Iranians have left Islam and converted to other religions, particularly Christianity and, although the sentence under sharia law is death, until now there had been no written law relating to this.
What we need to know about the Islamic Punishment Law Bill
According to FCNN, and according to some experts in Islamic Punishment Law, there are a number of crimes reduced for which previously execution had previously been the punishment, but there were also a number that have increased. The new crimes that have been included are: witchcraft; heresy in religion, and; fortune telling, which was previously banned but not considered a crime. Under the new law these are not only considered as a crime but are punishable by death.
Under the law dealing with apostates, the opportunity to return to (Islamic) faith has been considered, but in this approved bill one added item specifies the execution of apostates without any opportunity for them to return. "Islam is probably the only important religion in the world in which conversion to another religion is punishable by death". Under Sharia law the death sentence is a normal verdict for an apostate man, one who converts from one religion (in this case Islam) to another, or even for someone from a Muslim background. Until now under the Islamic Punishment Law and other penal laws in Iran there has been no clear and exclusive clause about apostasy and, in issuing any death sentence, the courts have only referred to Sharia law and Fatwa texts. It seems that the writers, and those who have approved the general principle of this new bill about punishment, have tried to specify a new separate clause to deal with apostasy in order to help judges in sentencing male apostates to death. In this way the legislature have responded to what they have identified as this important necessity.
Two clauses of Islamic Punishment Law
Clause 224 of the approved bill of the Islamic Parliament asserts that the punishment for swearing about and insulting Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, Fatima and the Sh'ite Imams is the sentence of death. According to the judicial authority of Iran clause 225 is based on 6 explicit Sura (chapters) of the Koran and the traditions of Mohammad, the Sh'ite Imams and the Fatwas of most consensus Sh'ite clerics. Now apostasy is divided in to "national" apostasy and "intrinsic" apostasy. For male apostates the death sentence has been designated and for female apostates it is lifetime imprisonment. Clause 225 has defined the "intrinsic" apostate as someone for whom one of his parents was Muslim, or became Muslim after puberty, but then later left or declined Islam. Such a person is defined as an "intrinsic" apostate. For both kinds of apostasy the sentence is death but a "national" apostate may be given three days opportunity to repent and return to Islam. In the issue of apostasy in Sharia law and in Islamic punishment bill women have got advantages to men. In case of national and intrinsic apostasy they will not be executed but will receive a life sentence. If while in prison they repent they will be freed.
In February 2006 Slovani (name not recognised) the Head of the European Union declared that clause 225 of this bill is explicitly and clearly against the Islamic Republic of Iran's commitment to international conventions on human rights. He asked that the Iranian authorities, both in government and the Parliament, moderate this bill for the sake of the respect to this commitment. Abbas Abadi, a journalist in Tehran, has written in an article "because of the addition of this new Islamic punishment law on apostasy and the designation of the death sentence we need to ask that 'during these 30 years who was there that had to be executed in the absence of this apostasy law that means you now want to add this new bill to the law so that you can execute them?' We can conclude that, by legitimising the death sentence for apostasy in new bill of punishment law the Islamic regime of Iran is showing their fear of non-Islamic tendencies in Iranian society and that they approve and confirm that in last three decades important parts of Iranian society, because of the disappointment with the government have tended to lean towards other religions and other non-religious attitudes. The question that we need to raise is what necessity compels the Iranian regime to legitimise this penalty for Muslim-born people who reject Islam and convert."
Iranian Martyr's Son Detained in Wave of Arrests
Four other Christians arrested as apparent crackdown continues.
Special to Compass Direct News
LOS ANGELES, September 10 (Compass Direct News) – Five arrests in three cities across Iran in August suggest a continued crackdown on Iranian Christians by authorities, sources told Compass.
The most recent of the arrests took place on Aug. 21, when Ramtin Soodmand, son of martyred Assemblies of God pastor Hossein Soodmand, turned himself in after repeated calls from the Ministry of Information in Tehran. His father was executed by the state in 1990 for leaving Islam.
Sources told Compass that for weeks Soodmand had received repeated calls from authorities telling him to travel from Mashhad, where he lives, to Tehran. Yielding to pressure, Soodmand surrendered himself to the media center of the Ministry of Information at 9 a.m. on Aug. 21 but was not heard of until 3 p.m. of the next day. He has remained in detention since then.
Shortly after his detention, Soodmand's wife, Mitra, tried to visit her husband and was told to come back later. "Your husband is going to be in jail for a very long time," sources reported that authorities told her.
Soodmand has been able to make only one phone call – to his mother, who is blind, on Aug. 23. He told her that he was fine, but authorities did not allow him to call his wife, sources said.
Last week Soodmand's wife and two young children were finally allowed to visit him in Tehran. When they arrived, however, they found that they could only speak with him through a phone receiver and never saw him.
In the two-minute conversation, Soodmand told his wife several times, "I am fine, don't worry," sources reported. No other family members or friends have been allowed to see or speak to Soodmand. Neither his condition nor where he is being held were clear.
Sources said that authorities have also not informed his family of the charges against him.
His father, the last Iranian Christian convert from Islam executed by the Iranian government, was accused of working as "an American spy." Since then six more Protestant pastors have been assassinated by unknown killers.
The week before Ramtin Soodmand turned himself in, another Christian in Mashhad, Iman Rashidi, was arrested. Rashidi's whereabouts and condition are unknown. Rooz, a Farsi news website, reported him as under 18 years old.
Kurdish Christian Awaits Trial
A Christian member of Iran's Kurdish community, Shahin Zanboori, was arrested on Aug. 9 in the southwestern city of Arak, located in the Central Province of Iran, bordering Iraq.
Secret police detained Zanboori while he was evangelizing, sources told Compass. He was tortured during interrogation and suffered a broken arm and leg.
While in jail he told sources that he "felt God's presence in spite of the horrific treatment he received." He described being handcuffed and suspended from the ceiling while police severely beat the soles of his feet to get him to confess to crimes and give the names of all the believers he knew, according to sources.
Authorities also confiscated Zanboori's computer and cell phone.
Zanboori was released on Aug. 31 to his father, who lives in Kermanshah. His trial date had been set for Monday (Sept. 8), but sources have yet to learn the outcome of the hearing. He is expected to be charged with spying for foreign powers – a less serious offense than "apostasy" (leaving Islam).
In the city of Kerman in south central Iran, a couple identified as Darioush and Shirin were reportedly arrested on Aug. 8. At press time nothing more was known about their case.
Under the past three decades of Iran's Islamist regime, hundreds of citizens who have left Islam and become Christians have been arrested for weeks or months, held in unknown locations and subjected to mental and physical torture.
Possible Reasons for Crackdown
One source who works closely with Iranian refugees believes that politics are one reason for Iran's crackdown on Christians.
"Christians are viewed as potential spies allied with Israel or America," he said, adding that the overwhelming number of Iranian Christians he counsels have been visited and intimidated by police, leading them to flee from Iran.
He also believes that the apparent explosion in the number of house churches frightens Iran's government.
"They see it as something they cannot control, so they are afraid of house churches," he said.
Another expert on Iran believes Christians outside of Iran who exaggerate the number of conversions and house churches are partly responsible for the growth of persecution. When Christians claim there are thousands of house churches throughout the country, he said, Iranian authorities feel threatened .
"They [the police] are obligated to crack down on Christian activities when these activities become too public," one Iranian Christian said.
LOS ANGELES, September 10 (Compass Direct News) – Two Iranian Christians have officially been charged with "apostasy," or leaving Islam, as a draft law making the death penalty mandatory for those convicted of the charge is set to be debated in Iran's Parliament.
Mahmood Matin Azad, 52, and Arash Basirat (previously reported Bandari), 44, have been in prison since May 15, when they were arrested in Shiraz. When their lawyer went to authorities to inquire about the case in early August, he was informed that the two men had been formally charged with apostasy, sources confirmed to Compass.
At that time authorities gave the lawyer an official document stating that the formal charge of "apostasy" was based on the men's confessions during interrogation. The "Interrogation Note – Investigator's Final Order" said that their "culpability order" was based on Article 214 of the penal code and sections of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's treatise on legal affairs, the Tahrir ol Vassileh. Iran's legal system is based on sharia (Islamic law).
Previous charges of "Propaganda Against the Islamic Republic of Iran" had been dropped, according to the statement.
Sources who spoke to the lawyer explained that authorities generally do not issue written statements, and that this was an indication of the severity and complexity of the case.
With the apostasy bill to be debated in Parliament, some Iranian Christians fear that authorities are seeking to make an example of the two prisoners or give the prospective law a "test run."
'Interesting and Sensitive'
In February the Iranian Parliament proposed a draft penal code that demands the death penalty for leaving Islam. Under current Iranian law, apostasy is considered a capital offense, but punishment is left to the discretion of the judge.
Basirat, who suffers from diabetes, and Matin are expected to appear in court within the next few weeks with their lawyer in order to defend their case. They would not officially be found guilty unless evidence presented at the hearing were incriminating.
Meantime, the families of Basirat and Matin have tried unsuccessfully to get the prisoners out on bail before the trial takes place. The last week of August the lawyer instructed Matin's wife to prepare a bail sum of around $40,000 to $50,000. But when the lawyer tried to get the necessary paperwork and signatures from the judge, the bail amount was denied.
Fearing that the bail amount may be doubled, the defense attorney told a source close to Matin's family that the case had become "interesting and sensitive" for the judge and authorities, and therefore they would not "let it go so easily."
Basirat's family also tried to release him on bail by offering the deed of their home, but authorities have not accepted it.
The defense team has suggested that the defendants seek that international pressure be brought to bear on Iranian authorities to release Basirat and Matin and clear their names of any wrongdoing.
After 3 months of detention by the security agents, two newly converted Christians were formally charged with the crime being an infidel by the judicial court of the province of Fars in Iran.
This incident coincides with the continuation of the recent wave of arrests and detentions of many other Iranian Christians in Iran that since the month of May have been rounded up by security forces of the government.
According to the reports received by FCNN, two Iranian Christian men, 53 years old Mahmood Matin-Azad and 40 years old Arash Basirat, were arrest on May 15, 2008 at a local Park by the security officers of the Ministry of Information.
Mahmood Matin-Azad and Arash Basirat were taken to a well known detention center, known as the Block 100, located on Sepah Street and the military square in the center of Shiraz and were placed in solitary confinement for a very long time. During this time, they were subjected to inhumane and extremely lengthy interrogations. On July 15, 2008, they were transferred to the general population of detainees in the prison.
During the 2 months of solitary confinement and the extreme physical and psychological pressures that were administered by the prison officials, and despite the fact that gradually the interrogations and other forms of torture were slowly decreased, the condition of these brother continued to deteriorate, especially Arash Basirat (Bandari) who has been suffering from diabetes.
And even though the families of these two men, on numerous occasions, tried to post bail in order to have them released into their custody, and in order to seek medical help for them, the government officials refused such requests on the grounds that these were sensitive cases.
According to the documents received by FCNN, the people's judicial and revolutionary court of the city of Shiraz and the Ministry of Information of /the province of Fars, and according to the section 214 of penal code and section 1 and 9 of Imam Khomeini's guidebook, called "Tahrir al Vasileh", subsection dealing with infidelity and turning from Islam to another faith, Mr. Matin Azad and Basirat were formally charged with religious treason and convicted as infidels. Other charges such as anti revolutionary activities, creating pubic confusion, publishing falsities, and insulting the founder of the Iranian revolution and the current designated supreme leader of the Islamic republic of Iran were added to their original criminal charges.
It is noteworthy to mention that leaving the Muslim faith, according to the tenants of Islamic beliefs, is considered strictly forbidden and such person is declared an infidel and it is permissible to shed the blood of such person. Even though the Iranian Judiciary has not yet codified such crimes in its penal codes, many courts rely on the religious law and precedence to administer justice to infidels.
According to the code 167 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a judge must pass judgment based on the existing penal rules and codes. In the event such rules and codes are not available, the judge must base his judgment on the available Islamic laws and Fatwas (verdicts issued by the religious clerics). Thus, the courts in Shiraz relied upon the writing of Khomieni to declare these two Iranian Christians as infidels.
Thus far, several such cases of people condemned as infidels, whose punishment is execution by hanging, have been made public and the many international human rights groups have voiced their concerns and protests to the government of Iran.
According to the charter of the Human Rights by the United Nations, and signed by all members of the United Nations, in section 18 of this charter it clearly states that all citizens of the nations belonging to the international body must have freedom of speech, thought, and religious beliefs and this freedom extends to those who wish to change their religious beliefs.
We ask all Christians, inside and outside of Iran, to remember these brothers and all others who are in similar conditions and to pray for their speedy release and return to their families and loved ones.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation.