12/6/2024 Georgia (International Christian Concern) — After becoming a Christian, Jalal Darzi experienced persecution and was forced to flee Iran. Now he’s having trouble obtaining asylum in nearby Georgia because he can’t prove that he’s Christian.
Darzi’s struggles are common among Iranian Christian converts seeking asylum in Georgia. Although the country is predominantly Christian, its citizens mostly follow Orthodox Christianity. Darzi said the questions Georgian officials asked him about his faith were geared toward Orthodox Christianity.
Article18, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, and Open Doors released a joint report on Monday examining the challenges Iranian Christians are facing as they seek asylum in Georgia, where their faith is not seen as genuine.
Although more than 1,000 Iranians have applied for asylum in Georgia in the last three years, Georgia’s immigration services have only accepted less than 1% of them.
“The asylum-seekers, therefore, face an uncertain future, with little hope of being recognised as refugees but having few alternative options to access international protection,” the report said. “Several individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected in Georgia have already spent years as refugees in neighboring countries such as Turkey, and say they no longer know what to do, nor where to go.”
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