Religious freedom campaigners are warning that proposed legislation in Iran, introduced to counter foreign espionage, could have wider consequences for Christians and other religious minorities.
Iran is already ranked by Open Doors as the 10th most difficult country in the world for Christians. Campaigners say conditions have become more difficult since the conflict involving Israel and the United States, with concerns that pressure on Christians could increase further.
Christians in Iran can face suspicion over alleged support for Israel or the United States. Earlier this month, Iranian authorities described several Persian-language Christian broadcasters as "hostile" actors and warned of severe penalties for people who watch their programmes.
The latest concerns relate to a bill that has been proposed to combat what Iranian authorities describe as the infiltration of foreign intelligence services, governments and other entities. The legislation has not yet been passed, but United Christian Activists (UCA), an international organisation made up of Iranian Christians and religious freedom campaigners, says some of its provisions could have implications for Christians.
UCA has raised concerns about the broad wording of some of the proposed legal definitions. The group says the legislation could potentially create problems for Christians who communicate with other Christians outside Iran or receive theological education from abroad.
The concerns could extend to communication between Christian family members living in different countries. UCA has also warned that, depending on how the provisions are interpreted and enforced, even religious activities involving relatives abroad could potentially attract scrutiny.
The organisation acknowledged that the published version of the bill includes an exemption in Article 8 for matters considered purely personal. However, it said questions remain over how authorities would distinguish ordinary family communication from communication that could be viewed as religious or organisational.
UCA stressed that it was not claiming the proposed legislation explicitly targets Christians or Christian family communications. Instead, the organisation said its concern is that broadly worded provisions could potentially allow legitimate family or religious communication to be treated as a national security matter.
The group said this concern should be considered in the context of previous cases in Iran in which some Christian converts have faced charges linked to national security.
UCA has called on the international community to monitor the legislative process closely and take action to protect religious freedom in Iran, particularly if the proposed provisions could affect legitimate Christian family, religious or educational communication.
Based on reporting by Christian Today UK.
