Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Iran Metes out 80 Lashes to Christians for Communion Wine Drinking

The Jerusalem Post reports: “An Iranian court sentenced four Iranians to 80 whips for drinking wine during communion and possession of a satellite antenna. Christianity Society Worldwide, an advocacy organization for religious freedom, reported on the punishment last week on its website.
A court in the city of Rasht sentenced the four Iranian Christian men on October 6. Rasht is located on the Caspian Sea in Iran’s northern province of Gilan and has a population of over 600,000…

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), said, ‘The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian sacrament of sharing in the Lord’s Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably. We urge the Iranian authorities to ensure that the nation’s legal practices and procedures do not contradict its international obligation under the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to guarantee the full enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief by all of its religious communities.’

In an October UN report on Iran’s human rights record, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, wrote ‘at least 20 Christians were in custody in July 2013. In addition, violations of the rights of Christians, particularly those belonging to evangelical Protestant groups, many of whom are converts, who proselytize to and serve Iranian Christians of Muslim background, continue to be reported.’...”

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