June 28, 2019
Belarus has allowed an Iranian man who converted to Orthodox Christianity and is wanted by Tehran on murder charges to remain in the country, reversing an announced plan to expel him.
The chief of the Belarus Department for Citizenship and Migration, Alyaksey Byahun, told Radio Farda June 17 that Mehrdad Jamshidian may stay in Belarus with his wife and family.
The UN Committee on Human Rights has said that Jamshidian would be at risk of torture and the death penalty, with no guarantee of a fair trial, if he were transferred to Iranian custody.
In May, Belarusian authorities released Jamshidian after nearly a year in jail and ordered him to leave the country within three months.
Jamshidian has lived in Belarus since 1993. He was arrested in 2018 on grounds that he had violated immigration laws.
On May 14, a court in Minsk rescinded the order to deport Jamshidian to Iran, where he could face the death penalty both for murder and for apostasy because of his renunciation of Islam to become a Christian. But the court also ruled that Jamshidian must leave Belarus for a country of his choice within three months.
Jamshidian’s family said he had suffered a heart attack while in custody and that his Belarusian wife, with whom he has three children, could not work because she was recovering from cancer surgery.
Jamshidian’s Iranian passport expired in 2016 and he did not apply for a new one out of fear of being punished by authorities in Iran, so he cannot travel.
Belarus had rejected multiple requests from Jamshidian for political asylum and protection since 2013. Without a new passport, he has been unable to apply for legal residence in Belarus since 2016.
Jamshidian converted to Christianity in 2002 while living in Belarus. The renunciation of Islam is a crime punishable by death in Iran. Tehran has insisted Jamshidian faces no repercussions due to his conversion.
However, he was placed on Interpol’s wanted list in 2012 at Tehran’s request for allegedly murdering his mother and brother during a visit to Iran. Jamshidian denies the charges, saying he was in Belarus at the time of the murders. He also claims his relatives do not consider him a suspect. He was arrested twice in Belarus on the Interpol warrant, in 2012 and 2013.
But Belarus rejected Iran’s requests for his extradition because of what they said was insufficient evidence presented by Iranian authorities. Interpol has also dropped his name from its list of wanted people.
