Who We are

//

What's happening

//

Our Cases

Featured Page

Confronting Religious Persecution at the IRF Summit

Feb. 10Stories That Demand Action:

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who are on the front lines of defending religious freedom. The Summit provides a rare forum to share firsthand experiences, expose ongoing...More

Active Cases

Save Christians From Murder in Congo

Save Christians From Murder in...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has once again become the site of unspeakable violence , with Christian communities being targeted by terrorists and militant forces. On February 15, over 70 Christians – primarily women, children, and the elderly – were added to the list of victims when they were abducted...More

Sign Petition

>

Cases

>

News

>

Petitions

>

Who We Are

>

Sign Up For Updates

>

<

Youcef Nadarkhani

A Christian pastor and his wife are running for their lives after being arrested and SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS, among other Christian traditions.

Iranian-Assyrian Christian Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, 66, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his wife Shamiram Issavi, 65, was sentenced to 5 years (image source: Article18.) Bet-Tamraz and other Christians were arrested on Dec. 26, 2014. What was the heinous crime that earned them a stay in Iran’s infamous Evin Prison – the Iranian penitentiary labeled “a torture factory”? Holding a gathering to celebrate the Christmas holiday.

The arresting officers reportedly told them they were being arrested for participating in an “unlawful and unauthorized gathering”:

Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, former leader of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church of Tehran (Shahrara), was arrested on Friday, 26 December, along with two of his friends, Amin Afshar-Naderi and Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, as they celebrated Christmas together.

Ten plainclothes officers, introducing themselves as agents of the Revolutionary Court, entered the pastor’s home and confiscated many personal items, including Bibles, mobile phones and identification documents.

After years of failed appeals hearings, which were repeatedly delayed or canceled, Pastor Bet-Tamraz and his wife Shamiram were notified that their appeal was unceremoniously denied. Shortly after, Shamiram received a notice to report to Evin Prison to begin her 5-year sentence.

Iran’s brutal Evin Prison has been described as a “house of horrors” where “beatings, torture, mock executions and brutal interrogations are the norm.”  What chance did two innocent Christians in their late-60s have of surviving such a hellish environment?

Pastor Victor and his wife chose the only option for survival they saw possible. They have reportedly fled Iran for their lives. Now they seek shelter and safety while they vow to continue appealing their unjust sentencing.

The ACLJ is very familiar with Iran’s disgusting persecution of its Christian citizens. We’ve told you how we’ve gone directly to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to demand protection for Iranian Christians who live in fear of targeted harassment, arrest, and imprisonment because of their faith.

We continue to advocate for the release of Iranian Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani who has languished for over 2 years now in that very same Evin Prison, enduring unknown manners of abuse, after being beaten and arrested by Iranian authorities because of his faith. We delivered a critical written submission through our international affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), urging intervention to free Pastor Youcef and reunite him with his wife and young children.

And just recently, we delivered a critical oral intervention at the UNHRC in Geneva, Switzerland, through the ECLJ, asking for protection for Iranian Christians.

The greatest threat to religious freedom in Iran is the extreme persecution that religious minorities face at the hands of the Iranian government. This year, a human rights watch group ranked Iran as the 9th worst place to live for Christians, because, as we highlighted in our UPR report on Iran, churches in Iran are routinely raided and Christians are targeted for arrest simply because they are living out their faith in community with others.

We also reminded the international body that as a U.N. member state, Iran is obligated under its charter to uphold “respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.” Its actions against its own Christians and other religious minorities are a direct violation of that charter.

As we stated at the UNHRC:

As a member of the United Nations, Iran has a responsibility to adhere to the principles set forth in the U.N. Charter. It is imperative that Iran work to actively protect the rights of its citizens, and reform its laws so that all its citizens are free to practice their religion peacefully without fear of arrest and violence from their government.

By harassing Christians, rounding up Christian pastors, and locking them up in horrific prisons to suffer, Iran is disgracing its international commitments. It has to stop now.

We will continue to monitor the plight of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and his wife Shamiram Issavi if and when updates become available, and will be prepared to take action on their behalf if necessary. And we continue to aggressively advocate for the freedom of Pastor Youcef until he is allowed to return home to his family.

159,738

Signatures

ACLJ Staff Writers  //

Feb 04, 2026

Iran’s brutality is on full display as more than 36,500 Iranians are feared dead, indiscriminately gunned down in the streets, as the regime wages war on its own citizens. As its people cry out for freedom,

ACLJ Staff Writers  //

Jan 16, 2026

Iran is no longer pretending. Its brutality is on full display as over 12,000 freedom-loving Iranians have been gunned down in the streets. But Iran’s vile attacks on its own citizens have been most felt by...

Jordan Sekulow  //

Jun 18, 2025

“Violence against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached alarming levels in recent months.” Those were the words I just delivered in front of the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) this...