Tag: Iran

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about freedom of religion in Iran

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question about freedom of religion on 27th April 2022, during a debate on the Amnesty International 2021/22 report:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for referencing freedom of religion and belief. Amnesty International’s latest annual report sets out the parliament of Iran’s introduction of two articles to the country’s penal code that further undermine the right to freedom of religion and belief. These articles prescribe up to five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine for insulting Iranian ethnicities, divine religions or Islamic denominations, or for engaging in

“deviant educational or proselytising activity that contradicts … Islam.”

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Bishop of Chelmsford calls for justice for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, in Lords maiden speech

“I have experienced first-hand the sting of injustice—injustice born of being caught up in events that are bigger than we are and in the face of which we are powerless.”

The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Guli Francis-Dehqani, made her maiden speech in the House of Lords on 2nd December 2021, in a debate led by Lord Collins of Highbury, “That this House takes note of the detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the case for further action by Her Majesty’s Government to secure her release.”

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Maiden Speech): My Lords, I was introduced to the House barely a month ago, having recently taken up my post as Bishop of Chelmsford, that vast and wonderful diocese that covers the whole of Essex and east London. It is a privilege to serve this diocese, which is complex, diverse and full of opportunities and challenges. Today, I thank everyone here who has offered me the warmest of welcomes. I am immensely grateful, in particular, for the help and support that I have received from staff and officials.

I have a deep and personal interest in the subject of this debate. Not only have I met Richard Ratcliffe and followed the story of Nazanin over the years, but I myself originally come from Iran. Born and brought up there, I left as a teenager during the Islamic Revolution, following difficult and traumatic circumstances. I was born into a Christian household, my father having been a convert from Islam to Christianity, in a small village in the centre of Iran. We were part of the tiny Anglican Church in Iran, which, when I was growing up in the 1970s, was made up primarily of converts and second- and third-generation Christians.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about historic debt related to non-delivery of tanks to Iran

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 29th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked Her Majesty’s Government what is the status of the £400 million debt owed to the government of Iran for the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks in 1979; and what steps they are taking to repay it.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about the status of dual-nationals detained in Iran

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 29th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of British Iranian dual nationals detained by the government of Iran; and what support they are providing (1) the detainees, and (2) their families.

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Bishop of Coventry urges government to consider responsibility in the captivity of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

The Bishop of Coventry raised a question of forgiveness and responsibility in the government response to the continued imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran on 15th November 2021, during a debate on what action the government was taking to facilitate her release and return to the UK:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, what does the Minister think Governments on both sides might have to learn from a simple prayer that was once prayed on this day in Coventry, after the destruction of the city? It is a simple prayer but a brave one; it simply says: “Father, forgive.” It does not try to forgive the other side, or even to absolve the other side from responsibility, but it does say that, somewhere along the line, both sides, in whatever proportion, need to accept that a very deep hole has been dug and suffering people have fallen into it. In this case, there is a suffering woman at the bottom of the hole, and her husband and child. Can we not do more to accept that there is something we have a responsibility for?

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Bishop of Rochester asks about possibility of further engagement from religious groups in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

On 28th April 2021, Bishop of Rochester asked a question on how beneficial it would be for faith groups to engage in efforts to end the continued captivity of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran:

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, the ordeals of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe go from bad to worse. These Benches assure her and her family of our continued prayers. As many have made clear, including in the other place powerfully yesterday, she is caught up in political machinations not of her own making. As well as urging Her Majesty’s Government to do everything possible to deal with outstanding issues which may be being used to justify her continued punishment, does the Minister think that the engagement of religious groups here—Muslim and Christian—might offer any way forward, or would that be counterproductive?

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Bishop of Leeds responds to Queen’s Speech on inter-connectedness in foreign policy

On 7th January 2020 the Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, opened the second day of debate on the Queen’s Speech, on the subjects of culture, language and foreign affairs:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, following the last debate on Iran, I think it is wise to take a step back from the detail, to which we shall shortly return, to consider culture and principle.

Twenty-twenty vision is something that, if claimed, proves only that the claimant is deluded. However, leaving fantasists to one side for a moment, we might take some wisdom from the late former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Helmut Schmidt. At the age of 91, he wrote a book called Ausser Dienst, or “out of office”, in which he advises young Germans considering a career in politics not to do so unless they speak at least two foreign languages to a competent degree. His reason? You can only understand your own culture if you look at it through the eyes of another culture, and to do that you need language; some things cannot be translated.

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Bishop of Leeds asks Government to remember Iran’s rich cultural history

Leeds0518On 7th January 2020  Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, repeated a Government statement on Middle East security. The Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, asked a follow-up question:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, would the Minister agree that the “Thought for the Day” by the Bishop of Loughborough this morning on BBC Radio 4, available on the Sounds app, shone an important light on this matter? She came to this country as an Iranian refugee following the murder of her brother, ​and what she was pointing to was that in the context of the immediate crisis we must not lose sight of the fact that Iran has a very rich and long history as a seat of civilisation, and that we should not tar the entire country and culture with one brush.

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Bishop of Coventry asks Government about welfare of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

On 23rd January 2019 the Bishop of Coventry received written answers to two questions about the treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, in particular that she be granted access to medical treatment for long standing mental and physical health complaints. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry asks Government about welfare of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe”

Bishop of Durham asks Government about Iranians seeking asylum in the UK

On 7th January 2019 the House of Lords heard repeated a Government statement on migrant crossings of the English Channel. The Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, asked a follow-up question:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, on a slightly different tack, given that those seeking asylum seem to be mainly Iranians, and the number of Iranians seeking asylum in the past two years has been steadily reducing, is work being done to discern whether this is an ​increase in number or a transfer of route? Is work being done to understand the dynamics of exactly what is going on? Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks Government about Iranians seeking asylum in the UK”