Kevin Omar Rodriguez Ponce

Violation of Basic Rights: Malaysian Duo Sentenced to Prison Over Forbidden Faith Under 2024 Fatwa

I was a soldier in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and I was very afraid that they would find out I had changed my religion. I have suffered many injustices because of this. I tried to flee Iran by air on December 9, 2022, but the Ministry of Intelligence had banned my exit. My passport was confiscated at the airport, and I was given a paper telling me I had to appear before the Religious Court.

I have been subjected to harassment and persecution by both the government and my family because of my faith in the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. In Iran, there is no freedom of belief, and in the Islamic Republic, anyone who changes their religion is considered an apostate. Public expression of this belief may result in imprisonment and, in some cases, execution.