The complaint is contained in an extensive report by Article18CSW, Open Doors and Middle East Concern. Migrants live an uncertain future and the risk, if they return to Iran, of abuse and violence. In 2023, 20% of people who requested asylum in Georgia came from the Islamic Republic, and 90% fled after converting to Christianity.
Tehran () – The Tbilisi authorities in charge of migration control systematically deny the approval of asylum applications submitted by Iranian Christians, firm in a policy of rejection despite well-founded fears of persecution if these people return to their country of origin. origin. Article18a site specialized in documenting the repressions taking place in the Islamic Republic against religious minorities, especially Christians, published a detailed report (click here to read it) based on interviews with migrants and their legal representatives. “Asylum seekers – it says – face an uncertain future, with little hope of being recognized as refugees, but with few alternative options to access international protection.”
The report is the result of a joint work of Article18Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Open Doors and Middle East Concern, and shows that several asylum seekers whose claims were rejected in Georgia have lived for years as refugees in neighboring countries, especially Turkey, where they have been victims of persecution and abuse by the Ankara authorities, and have ended up living in a “limbo” between harassment and the risk of repatriation. From their testimonies it is clear that “they no longer know what to do or where to go.” “They call on the Georgian authorities – the study continues – to recognize the legitimacy of their request and on the international community to open new safe and legal avenues for resettlement.”
In 2023, around 20% of all asylum seekers in Georgia (one in five in total) came from the Islamic Republic, and 90% fled their home country after converting to Christianity. However, in the last three years less than 1% of the almost 1,200 Iranians who requested asylum – for the most diverse reasons, not only related to confessional persecutions – have received a positive response from the Georgian migration service.
There are several reasons behind the hundreds of rejections, including “Georgia’s growing relationship with Iran” and “intolerance toward expressions of Christianity other than Georgian Orthodox.” In most cases, applications are rejected because their faith is supposedly not authentic, but this version is contradicted by what happened to Pastor Reza Fazeli (pictured) and Amin Zangeneh Zad, whose applications were rejected despite that his faith had been verified. This is due – the report continues – “to the growing sense of desperation among Iranian Christian asylum seekers in Georgia, who are increasingly doubtful about their chances of obtaining refugee status and are equally unsure about the other options available to them. they”.
Another asylum seeker who had already spent almost a decade in Turkey before moving to Georgia, Sasan Rezaee, said he was “so tired” that he had even contemplated returning to Iran and accepting “whatever punishment they can give me.” “My body and my soul – he stated – cannot withstand this pressure much longer, but what can I do?” “I can’t stay here in Georgia. I can’t stay in Turkey. I don’t want to go to Armenia and I don’t want to go back to my country. But if they reject me and I don’t have the opportunity to go to another part of the world, I will be forced to go back to Iran, because I am tired of the situation of asylum seekers. I am very tired sometimes – he concludes – I have come to think about suicide.
Similar is the case of Iliya Rahnama, who was forced to leave Georgia earlier this year when his application was rejected, and denounces unequal treatment in the case of migrants of Iranian origin. “What was our mistake? Most countries talk about freedom of religion. I was a Muslim and in 2012 I believed in Jesus Christ. Was it a mistake? Sometimes I feel confused because Europe, the United States and other countries are not able to understand the Iranian Christians. Because they close their eyes. Please open your eyes. Please have mercy. Please do justice for us,” he cries desperately.
The report concludes with some recommendations for the Georgian authorities and the international community. Activist movements are calling on the Tbilisi government to ensure that Immigration officials carry out a more thorough selection process for refugees; that the diversity of Christian creed be recognized when evaluating the authenticity of a conversion; to refer to the reports of the United Nations special rapporteur on Iran when assessing the situation of Christians in the Islamic Republic and determining whether asylum seekers have a well-founded fear of persecution if they return. Finally, the international community should: urgently put pressure on the Georgian authorities regarding the situation of Iranian Christian asylum seekers; organize new safe and legal avenues for the resettlement of Iranian Christians; intensify efforts to ensure that Iranian Christians fleeing their country due to religious persecution — or fear of it — are protected and quickly relocated; reinforce regional protection mechanisms to ensure the continued presence of Iranian Christians in the Middle East and the Caucasus.
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