E/CN.4/1995/91 page 51 Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Husayn-Quli Rawshan-Damir, imprisoned on 27 June 1993. Ali Latifi, arrested at Urumiyyih on 7 September 1993. Rabiu’llah Isma’ilzadiyan, imprisoned in Tehran (date unknown). Riyan Taid (date and place unknown). According to certain reports, in late December 1993 in Tehran, Ayatollah Abdolakrim Mousavi Ardebili, in a public sermon to his congregation, cited a nineteenth century Muslim clergyman, Saeed-al-Ulama Baboli, as follows: ’For a long time I have been occupied here with day-to-day issues. I am engaged in Baha’i-killing.’ This sermon was also broadcast on Radio Tehran. Iranian Jewish community The Special Rapporteur has been informed that Mr. Feizollah Mekhubad, a 78-year-old member of the Iranian Jewish community, has been executed. He was allegedly arrested two years ago for ’the crime of association with zionism’ and sentenced to death. The sentence was then commuted to three years’ imprisonment. After two years in prison, Mr. Mekhubad was executed on 25 February 1994 without trial or explanation. According to some reports, he was tortured before being executed. Members of various Christian Churches The Special Rapporteur has been informed that a campaign against Christians has been stepped up in recent months. It has allegedly led to a whole series of persecutions, arrests, imprisonments and torture of Iranian Christians, particularly Muslims who had converted to Christianity and pastors and parishioners of Evangelical churches working with them. According to information received, in June 1993 the Iranian authorities asked the representatives of the Christian Churches to sign statements to the effect that they would not attempt to convert Muslims, and, since August 1993, documents binding them to ban converted Muslims from Christian services and to avoid using Farsi during services. Any conversion of Muslims to Christianity carries the death penalty. A number of churches, in particular Evangelical churches, have been forced to stop conducting services, and since February 1990, the Iranian Bible Society has not been allowed to open. The selling of Bibles is prohibited, and 20,000 copies of the New Testament in Persian confiscated in September 1991 have still not been returned. There is said to be discrimination against Christians in public service, and the Christian religion is reported to be denigrated, particularly in the State schools’ religious instruction classes. The Special Rapporteur has learned that Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr, President of the Council of Protestant Churches and General Superintendent of the Churches of the Assemblies of God in Iran,