An Iranian convert to Christianity seeking asylum in Sweden is once again facing deportation to Iran, according to his pastor. If he’s sent back to Iran, the convert, Reza Jebbari, could be imprisoned or even put to death for leaving Islam.
CBN News first reported on Jebbari’s case last month when Swedish authorities rejected his application for asylum and ordered him deported. A few days later, a Migration Board official announced they were halting the deportation process and granting Jebbari another hearing.
Now, Jebbari’s pastor, Cai Berger, tells CBN News that another migration official has denied the request for asylum and police are seeking to take Jebbari into custody and begin the deportation process.
Jebbari’s lawyer has already filed another appeal, but Berger says they are puzzled at the government’s persistence in its attempts to deport the Christian convert.
“It would seem that we are in a tight spot again and, quite frankly, we’re at a loss as to why the Migration services are so determined to deport [him],” Berger wrote CBN News in an email. “People with weaker cases get permission to stay in Sweden, but not him.”
CBN News has yet to receive a reply to an email to the Swedish Migration Board’s press office requesting an explanation for the decision to deny asylum.
Christians in Iran, especially those who convert from Islam, are harshly persecuted. CBN News reportedly extensively on the case of Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned for three years and sentenced to die for apostasy. Nadarkhani was finally released earlier this year after an international outcry put pressure on the Iranian regime.