CBN om kristna iranier-del av artikel
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/March/Sweden-Deports-Iranian-Christians-to-Face-Persecution-/?om=comment-lighbox
Swedish Pastor Bengt Sjoberg, who spends most of his time trying to rescue Christian asylum seekers facing deportation, said migration officials "are ignorant about religion."
"They don't know the difference between Catholic Church and Pentecostal. They ask a lot of stupid questions about the Christian faith," he said.
"Almost every week about five or six churches call me and say these [immigrants] who are coming to our church they are real converts. They are members in our church," he explained. "But the Migration Board doesn't believe these people are Christians. What shall we do?"
Mikael Ribbenvik, director of Operations for Swedish Migration Board, in an interview with AP Television News, described an agency that seems to be overwhelmed by asylum seekers.
"We have about a thousand people coming every week from many countries of the world and that's our first challenge," he said. "Then, of course, we have to have a proper procedure and give people answers in due time."
"If we say no, you can go to the courts but of course the volume in the system is a challenging task for us," he said.
But it shouldn't be hard for Swedish officials to grasp that Iran is a very dangerous place for Christians.
The case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani brought worldwide attention when he was convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death before being acquitted finally in 2012.
Just a few weeks ago, a U.S. congressional panel heard from Iranian Christian Nagmeh Abedini, whose husband Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, has been given an eight-year prison sentence for "threatening Iran's nation security."
He was building an orphanage.
Pastor Saeed's attorney said his client's prison sentence amounts to a death sentence. He's already been tortured and beaten in prison and has internal bleeding.
Jabbari was a famous singer in Iran and refused to help Islamic regime, getting him in trouble before and making him an even bigger target if he's sent back.
"He's been put in prison. They tried to recruit him as an informant, his pastor Cai Berger said. "We don't know what's going to happen to him in prison. Is he being tortured? Is he being left alone? We don't know this."
But these Christians have all confessed they've given the matter to God.
"Jesus accepts me, and now I'm very free about this," Jabbari said.
A Callous Migration Board
CBN News asked the Swedish Migration Board if it understood the danger faced by Christian converts sent back to Iran. It said it did, making what Sweden is doing to these asylum seekers all the more damning, according to Donner.
It appears Sweden has closed its eyes. When Sjoberg told a Swedish Migration Board official that a family they deported was being tortured, the official said the family should call the police.
When Sjoberg explained that they were being tortured by the police, the official hung up.
"The history books will say something pretty nasty about Sweden's policy in this matter in the future," Donner said.
The Swedish Migration Board Responds
Magnus Rosenberg, senior legal advisor at the Swedish Migration Board, answered the following questions from CBN News.
Swedish Pastor Bengt Sjoberg, who spends most of his time trying to rescue Christian asylum seekers facing deportation, said migration officials "are ignorant about religion."
"They don't know the difference between Catholic Church and Pentecostal. They ask a lot of stupid questions about the Christian faith," he said.
"Almost every week about five or six churches call me and say these [immigrants] who are coming to our church they are real converts. They are members in our church," he explained. "But the Migration Board doesn't believe these people are Christians. What shall we do?"
Mikael Ribbenvik, director of Operations for Swedish Migration Board, in an interview with AP Television News, described an agency that seems to be overwhelmed by asylum seekers.
"We have about a thousand people coming every week from many countries of the world and that's our first challenge," he said. "Then, of course, we have to have a proper procedure and give people answers in due time."
"If we say no, you can go to the courts but of course the volume in the system is a challenging task for us," he said.
But it shouldn't be hard for Swedish officials to grasp that Iran is a very dangerous place for Christians.
The case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani brought worldwide attention when he was convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death before being acquitted finally in 2012.
Just a few weeks ago, a U.S. congressional panel heard from Iranian Christian Nagmeh Abedini, whose husband Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, has been given an eight-year prison sentence for "threatening Iran's nation security."
He was building an orphanage.
Pastor Saeed's attorney said his client's prison sentence amounts to a death sentence. He's already been tortured and beaten in prison and has internal bleeding.
Jabbari was a famous singer in Iran and refused to help Islamic regime, getting him in trouble before and making him an even bigger target if he's sent back.
"He's been put in prison. They tried to recruit him as an informant, his pastor Cai Berger said. "We don't know what's going to happen to him in prison. Is he being tortured? Is he being left alone? We don't know this."
But these Christians have all confessed they've given the matter to God.
"Jesus accepts me, and now I'm very free about this," Jabbari said.
A Callous Migration Board
CBN News asked the Swedish Migration Board if it understood the danger faced by Christian converts sent back to Iran. It said it did, making what Sweden is doing to these asylum seekers all the more damning, according to Donner.
It appears Sweden has closed its eyes. When Sjoberg told a Swedish Migration Board official that a family they deported was being tortured, the official said the family should call the police.
When Sjoberg explained that they were being tortured by the police, the official hung up.
"The history books will say something pretty nasty about Sweden's policy in this matter in the future," Donner said.
The Swedish Migration Board Responds
Magnus Rosenberg, senior legal advisor at the Swedish Migration Board, answered the following questions from CBN News.
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