Iran Sentences Christian Convert To 10 Lashes For ‘Disturbing Public Order’

On January 12, 2020, an Iranian 21-year-old Christian convert, Mary (Fatemeh) Mohammadi, was arrested after participating in anti-government protests. Iran has since sentenced the young woman to prison and a lashing for “disturbing public order.” The protests were over the destruction of the Ukrainian jet, Flight 752, shot down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG). Iran later announced the “mistake” that resulted in the deaths of all 176 passengers on board.

Mohammadi shared in an Instagram post that her sentence of three months and one day in prison was suspended for one year and that she was sentenced to ten lashes. She also said that she was tortured while in prison, suffering “terrible conditions” for “protesting against the slaughter of human beings.” Mohammadi said she did not appeal her sentence “because the appeal courts have turned into affirmative tribunals.”

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, had discussed her case in a February 12 interview with Tony Perkins who is the chair of USCIRF (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom). The USCIRF had tweeted their condemnation of Mohammadi’s sentencing, saying that, “No peaceful activist should be targeted on the basis of their religious beliefs.”

Pompeo stated that the U.S. was “deeply concerned” of reports of Mohammadi’s arrest, and said she was “targeted by the regime because she made the choice to convert to Christianity.”