Seoul Administrative Court (Herald DB) A South Korean court has overturned the denial of refugee status for an Iranian Christian after a six-year legal battle, finding that people who convert from Islam to Christianity could face persecution in Iran.According to local media reports Saturday, Seoul Administrative Court Judge Cho Dae-hyeon upheld the plaintiff’s claim seeking to overturn the Seoul Immigration Office’s decision to deny refugee status.The plaintiff was born into a devout Muslim family and attended an Islamic school. The plaintiff later decided to convert to Christianity after attending a church in Isfahan.After receiving Christian education during visits to foreign countries including Turkey, Armenia and the Philippines, the plaintiff worked as a missionary as a member of an underground house church network.The plaintiff left Iran after a colleague who had converted to Christianity was arrested and a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the plaintiff could also be arrested. The plaintiff applied for refugee status in South Korea in 2020 but was denied after immigration authorities questioned the credibility of the account.The court, however, found that the plaintiff had described the situation facing Christians in Iran in consistent and concrete terms, including details that would have been difficult for a non-Christian Iranian to know.The court cited Sharia, a body of Islamic law, noting that people who convert from Islam can face severe punishment under some interpretations, including the death penalty for apostasy.The court said the plaintiff’s Christian activities could be regarded as conduct that could expose the plaintiff to the death penalty under Iran’s Constitution, criminal law and interpretations of Sharia.