Danish experts suspect some asylum-seekers are lying about converting to Christianity in order to obtain asylum on the basis of their religious beliefs, Kristeligt Dagblad reports.

Christian minorities are persecuted in some Muslim countries, which is why some asylum-seekers, they contend, are citing their religious beliefs as a reason to be granted asylum.

According to Flygtningenævnet, the refugee appeals board, asylum-seekers were rejected for lying about their conversion to Christianity in six cases in June and July.

From Iran and Afghanistan
“To judge an applicant’s credibility is not an exact science, but if the conversion comes right after a refusal and without a prior interest in Christianity, it is suspicious,” Bjørn Møller, a professor at the Department of Culture and Global Studies at Aalborg University, who is also a member of Flygtningenævnet, told the newspaper.

The board’s chairman, Henry Bloch Andersen, confirms an increasing number of asylum-seekers use their conversion to Christianity as grounds for asylum, but believes most of them are telling the truth.

Many of the asylum-seekers in question came from Iran and Afghanistan.