“There was no (pre-existing) deal between Iran and the U.S. to accept deportees from the U.S., and we didn’t know this deal existed,” Herischi told Religion News Service. “Unfortunately, prior to this agreement, neither Iran nor the U.S. informed the public about it.”
Herischi said the news of the flight has raised anxiety among Iranians and Iranian Americans in the U.S. “We are devastated, because this is only going to increase. It’s opened the door for a huge number of deportation from the Iranian community, for those who are here for years.”
Torosian’s source maintained in his Facebook report that the converts faced harsh treatment upon arrival in Iran.
“When the plane landed in Tehran, Iranian state media was already waiting. Refugees were lined up, searched, and their belongings seized. Particularly alarming was the targeting of 10-15 Christian converts, who were forced to display their Bibles and crosses on camera while being interrogated,” read the Facebook report.
“They were then separated into individual rooms where they were coerced into making video confessions, statements discrediting their conversions, claiming they were misled by pastors, and admitting they had sought Christianity merely to gain asylum. These staged confessions are expected to be broadcast soon by Iranian state television as part of propaganda against both Christianity and the United States,” read the Facebook post.
But they may face more dangers, the lawyer said, due to how the U.S. handles deportations. Deportees’ possessions, said Herischi, are normally in the custody of the U.S. government and are sent ahead of the deportees to their destination. In this case, that means all their court documents, including case files detailing their asylum claims, would have been handed over directly to the Iranian government.
“So in those packages, there may be a copy of their files, all sorts of documents that they had to support their immigration case. So that’s very dangerous, and there may also be Bibles,” Herischi said. “Based on how much information [Iran] has about their immigration process and what they have been provided, they can charge them with allegations of working with a foreign government, working against national security and apostasy claims, which can be up to execution — capital punishment.”
The deportations come just months after Republican lawmakers passed a joint resolution condemning the treatment of Christians in Muslim-majority countries such as Iran.
“This is going to really normalize the human rights situation in Iran, and basically ignores the reality of what’s going on in Iran and those who are applying for asylum — especially for political and religious crimes,” Herischi said.
Torosian’s report accused the administration of delivering “elderly residents, women, and recognized asylum seekers into the hands of a regime known for religious persecution and political imprisonment,” calling the action “not only inhumane but also a grave betrayal of America’s longstanding commitment to protect the persecuted.
“The world must pay attention. These refugees are not numbers. They are fathers, mothers, believers, and survivors. Their forced return to Iran places them at extreme risk of imprisonment, torture, and even death. Silence in the face of this injustice is complicity,” the anonymous source said.
This article originally appeared here.
