European Court of Human Rights: Iranian Christians Safe if They ‘Practice Faith Discreetly’

(World Watch Monitor) — The European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that an Iranian who sought asylum in Switzerland based on religious grounds could be deported to his home country because his life was not in danger, despite various reports detailing how Iran persecutes religious minorities and converts to Christianity.

Human Rights advocate Ewelina Ochab, in an article for Forbes Magazine, called it “another blow to the victims of religious persecution.”

The court said “Mr. A” did not have reason to expect torture or to fear for his life, as long as he didn’t pose a threat to the Iranian government and “practice[d] his faith discreetly.”

But quoting from various reports that provide evidence and detail stories of religious persecution in Iran, Ochab said: “It is concerning how the Swiss authorities concluded that converts ‘who practiced their faith discreetly, did not face a real risk of ill-treatment upon their return’… The only reasonable conclusion is that by ‘practicing faith discreetly’, the Swiss authorities meant not practicing faith at all, as the practice requires some degree of manifestation and … this practice is significantly limited if not impossible in Iran.”

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