Tehran frees Christian convert leader of 'Place2worship' campaign
Zaman Fadaie had been sentenced to 10 years, reduced to six, plus two years in exile for 'Zionist Christianity' and an attack on 'national security'. In prison he had been whipped for drinking wine (during communion). From prison he had addressed an open letter to the authorities asking for "safe" places to worship.
Tehran (AsiaNews) - The Iranian authorities have released an Iranian Christian who was one of the promoters of the "#Place2Worship" campaign in which converts ask for places where they can practise their faith without the risk of arrest.
Zaman Fadaie, better known as Saheb, was released quite unexpectedly in the early hours of yesterday morning after five years in prison, and before the end of his term of custody.
From the prison in Evin, where he was held, he headed home to Rasht, a four-hour drive north of the capital, to the surprise of his wife Marjan and 15-year-old daughter Marta.
According to activist website Article18, Saheb was arrested and tried on charges of 'acting against national security by organising house churches' in which to pray.
Among other charges was the promotion of 'Zionist Christianity', a charge often exploited by the ayatollahs' judiciary to indict converts from the Muslim faith to Christianity, whom the Islamic Republic does not recognise and to whom it does not guarantee religious freedom.
He had been in prison since July 2018 and had been sentenced along with three other members of the 'Church of Iran' to 10 years in prison, followed by a further two years in exile. In 2020, the judges had reduced the sentence to six years, while maintaining the additional two years of exile once he left the cell. In recent days came the surprise news that he has been 'pardoned' and does not even have to serve the additional sentence.
Activists point out that it is significant that the release is 'unconditional'. Indeed, on several occasions during his imprisonment, the authorities had proposed to Saheb a release 'conditional' on his admitting that he had acted contrary to the law and that he would not commit future offences. In essence, to no longer practise the Christian faith. However, he always clearly refused, rejecting the prospect of restrictions on the free practice of worship.
In 2021, together with three other prisoners who had converted, he had signed an open letter asking the authorities to provide them - once they were free - with a place to pray without fear of re-arrest.
The letter inspired a campaign, still active today, entitled #Place2Worship, calling for safe places of worship not only for converts but also for native Persian-speaking Christians themselves.
The year before, Saheb himself and another convert had been whipped in prison, for an additional sentence imposed on them for drinking wine (alcohol is forbidden in Islam). In reality, both had taken it at communion and, therefore, as part of a ritual that is an integral part of the faith and certainly not in violation of Iranian laws.
Saheb is the third of four Christians initially sentenced to 10 years in prison to be released, after Youhan Omidi and Yasser Mossayebzadeh. Currently, only Yousef Nadarkhani, who is also the most famous of the group, remains in the cell.
Two years ago, the United Nations had intervened in the case, branding the sentence handed down against him as 'arbitrary'. The 'pardon' received by Saheb is part of a broader pardon measure issued in recent days by the Tehran leadership on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Republic.
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11/03/2023 18:41
11/01/2022 13:41
