Iran: Information on whether a businessman can be held legally responsible for the actions of a client, and what options are open to a Muslim accused of being an apostate

The Research Directorate was told by a professor of political science at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, specializing in Iran, in a 17 April 1998 e-mail communication that under unusual circumstances a businessman could be held responsible for the actions of a client under Iranian law. However, the professor is not aware of any examples of a businessman being convicted of apostasy based on the actions of a client.

The following part of this Response deals with apostasy in Iran and the options open to a person accused of apostasy.

The 22 February 1996 issue of La Lettre hebdomadaire de la FIDH, published by the Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme in Paris, featured a translation of an Iranian Islamic court judgement against a person who was convicted of apostasy (3). The convict, Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, was sentenced to death for "national apostasy" on the grounds that he had returned to the Baha'i religion after having converted to Islam and practising that religion for seven years. The court took into account the fact that the convict, having reached the age of maturity and having previously converted to Islam, had unequivocally acknowledged that he accepted the Baha'i religion ("vu sa reconnaissance non-équivoque du fait qu'il a accepté la secte bahá'íe égarée"), that he remained committed to his Baha'i beliefs, and that he had refused to repent despite having been strongly encouraged to do so by the court ("en dépit des énormes efforts dépensés par ce Tribunal tendant à le guider et l'encourager à repentir d'avoir commis le péché le plus grave"). In handing down the sentence, the court made reference to religious writings by the Ayatollah Khomeini.

For information on apostasy in Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini's definition of apostasy, please see Responses to Information Requests IRN3090 and IRN3103 of 1 December 1989, IRN4118 of 12 February 1990, and IRN4477 of 5 March 1990.

In his book A Clarification of Questions, Khomeini stated that "[a]postasy is proven by the witnessing of two just men and by confession" (1984, 429).

In a 16 April 1998 telephone interview, a professor of political science specializing in Iran at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, stated that when a case of alleged apostasy is brought before a court in Iran, the burden is on the accused to demonstrate to the court's satisfaction that he or she is not an apostate. One way for the accused to attempt this is to attend prayers at his or her local mosque and to ask the mullah of that mosque to attest to his or her religiosity. Another course of action open to a person accused of apostasy is to make a statement of repentance to the court.  

The Research Directorate was told in a 16 April 1998 telephone interview with a professor at Denison University in Granville, Ohio and former professor at Tehran University, who has written on Iran and Islamic economic thought, that there are two ways a person accused of apostasy in Iran may be convicted: the conviction may take the form of a verdict handed down by a state shari(a (Islamic law) court, or the conviction may take the form of a religious ruling, or fatwa, by a recognized religious authority, known as a mojtahed. In a state shari(a court, a person accused of apostasy is entitled to participate in the court proceedings in order to make a case against the accusation; in the case of a fatwa issued by a mojtahed, the accused does not have the right to argue his or her case prior to the issuance of the fatwa.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini. 1984. A Clarification of Questions [Resaleh Towzih al-Masael]. Translated by J. Borujerdi. Boulder: Westview Press.

La Lettre hebdomadaire de la FIDH [Paris]. 22 February 1996. No. 627. "Iran: Un Bahá'í condamné à mort pour apostasie. La communauté bahá'íe communique."

Professor of economics, Denison University, Granville, Ohio. 16 April 1998. Telephone interview.

Professor of political science, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario. 16 April 1998. Telephone interview.

Professor of political science Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama. 17 April 1998.

E-mail communication.