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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

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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

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Jewish Iranian Sentenced to Death

As Iran prepares to execute a Jewish man, the ACLJ filed an urgent complaint this weekend with the U.N.’s Special Procedures seeking international intervention to stop the execution.

In November 2022, 20-year-old Arvin Ghahremani was attacked by seven men, one of whom stabbed Ghahremani. Ghahremani disarmed the man, later identified as Amir Shokri, and fatally stabbed him in self-defense.

Ghahremani was convicted of “being an ‘accomplice to the intentional murder of a Muslim’” and sentenced to death. This is a clear case of Iran targeting a Jewish man for execution. And there were reports that his execution sentence was supposed to be carried out today.

As you know, the ACLJ has been working at various domestic and international levels to curb Iran’s abuse of human rights and its sponsoring of terrorism around the world. We have been working on these issues for years now.

Just last week, we filed a report with the U.N. Human Rights Council detailing Iran’s violations of religious freedom for Iranians who convert to Christianity and peacefully worship in their homes. The report also included information on Iran’s sponsoring of terrorism against Israel.

While Iran has indirectly attacked Israel for many years through proxies in the Middle East, its direct attack on Israel on April 13, 2024, further increased the level of threat against the Jewish state. As a result, we also increased our efforts.

We sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and several Members of Congress asking them to revoke the $6 billion held in Qatar. We reiterated Iran’s atrocities facilitated and committed against Israel and called on our nation’s leaders to take urgent and decisive actions.

We not only asked the government to revoke the funds, but we also filed a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to discover all the details concerning the release of funds. It’s important that the U.S. government stop the transfer of billions of dollars to a state that continues to openly violate international law. But it’s also important that the American people know why such decisions are made in light of Iran’s egregious violations of human rights as well as its open sponsoring of terrorism.

Clearly, revoking the release of $6 billion is important, but it is not enough. As such, we also sent another letter to 43 countries asking them to impose sanctions on Iran and designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization. While the U.S. has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, many countries have not.

Arvin Ghahremani’s conviction is just another example of Iran’s disregard for the law. Ghahremani was reportedly defending himself against seven men, one of whom stabbed him. Killing someone in self-defense is not a crime. We have asked the U.N.’s Special Procedures to urgently intervene to save Ghahremani’s life. Under Iran’s Islamic law, the purported victim’s family can also forgive Ghahremani or take monetary compensation to spare his life.

Thankfully, within hours of filing our complaint, Ghahremani received a temporary stay of execution. While this is a positive development, we will continue to look for ways to take further action to help save this Jewish man’s life. We hope that justice and mercy will prevail and that this young man will not be executed.

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