Iranian Christian man denied asylum in UK after judge claims he won’t face persecution in Iran
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – An Iranian Christian convert from Islam has been denied asylum in the UK after a judge concluded he would not face a “real act of persecution” by staying in his home country.
Reza Karkah, a former drug addict who found Jesus, is applying for asylum again after his initial application was denied in 2018 in spite of the fact that his baptism alone merits the death sentence in the Islamic Republic.
“I feel weighed down and that my life is on hold,” Karkah explained to Christian Concern. “We pray each time we go out that Jesus will have mercy on us.”
Last year another Iranian Christain was denied asylum in the UK based on the court’s decision that his testimony of having converted from a religion of violence to a religion of love was falsely based on a misunderstanding of biblical episodes in Exodus, Leviticus, and Revelation.
“We see in this case, and many others, that the [UK] Home Office has not properly understood the nature of Christian faith or the scale of the challenges faced by Christians in Iran,” Christian Legal Center executive Andrea Williams said.
“We call on the government to grant Reza asylum and for the government to address the ignorance of Christianity demonstrated in its asylum assessment and procedures,” she continued.
Iran is number nine on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List for persecution of Christians.