Iran Arrests Christian Convert Activist After Criticizing Regime’s ‘Soft Repression’

Iran Arrests Christian Convert Activist After Criticizing Regime’s ‘Soft Repression’

Iran Arrests Christian Convert Activist After Criticizing Regime’s ‘Soft Repression’

Concerns are being raised internationally about the well-being of an Iranian Christian convert who was arrested during an anti-government protest in Tehran last week.

Iran Arrests Christian Convert Activist After Criticizing Regime’s ‘Soft Repression’
Iran Arrests Christian Convert Activist After Criticizing Regime’s ‘Soft Repression’

The Human Rights Activists News Agency first reported on the arrest of 21-year-old Christian convert Fatemeh Mohammadi, who prefers to go by the name “Mary” since her spiritual conversion.

Mohammadi was detained near Azadi Square in Tehran, where protests occurred after the Iranian military shot down a Ukranian passenger plane and killed 176 people.

Although several people were arrested in connection with protests that took place in multiple cities, it is not clear whether Mohammadi was participating in any of the protests.

Article 18, a United Kingdom-based watchdog group that promotes religious freedom and tolerance for Christians in Iran, reports that Mohammadi published a series of tweets on the day she was arrested, saying that the Iranian people faced “soft repression” in Iran as the regime creates “false beliefs through selective coverage of the news.”

Mohammadi reportedly used hashtags in her tweets that translate to English as “hard-pressed” and “suppression is the norm.” She reportedly accused the regime of spreading ”lies that are bigger and more repetitive make them more believable.”

Iran Human Rights Watch reported on Sunday that even a week after Mohammadi’s arrest “authorities have released no information on her whereabouts and condition.”

This is not the first time that Mohammadi has been detained by authorities in the Islamic Republic.

She was arrested in 2017 during a raid on an underground house church meeting and later sentenced to six months in prison. Mohammadi served her time in the women’s ward of Iran’s notorious Evin prison.

She wrote an open letter to Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi last May accusing him of targeting Christians and violating the constitution, HRANA reported at the time.

Read the full story at: Missions Box

Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights

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