More than 300 Christians have been arrested since mid-2010 in Iran where churches operate in a climate of fear and Muslims who convert to Christianity face persecution, United Nations human rights investigators said on Thursday, September 20, Reuters reported. In a joint statement, the independent investigators called on authorities in the Islamic Republic to “ease the current climate of fear in which many churches operate, especially Protestant evangelical houses of worship.” “Scores of Christians appear to remain in detention for freely practicing their religion,” Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, said, noting the Iranian constitution and a landmark international treaty ratified by Iran protect the right to practice that faith. “Churches continue to report undue pressure to report membership, in what appears to be an effort to pressure and sometimes even detain converts,” he added.