All posts by Mansour Borji.

An Iranian court has sentenced four Christians to ten years’ imprisonment.

Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, an Iranian citizen and Christian convert, has been found guilty along with three Azerbaijani Christians who were arrested with him in Iran in June 2016.

The four individuals were accused of “actions against [Iran’s] national security”, “missionary activities”, “organic relations with Sweden’s ‘Word of Life’ Church”, “soft subversive activities against the Islamic Republic regime” and what the prosecutor called “Zionist Christianity”.

The Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov – are unlikely to have to serve their sentences because they were allowed to leave Iran in November last year and will not be forced to return.

However, the Iranian – Nasser, a convert from a Muslim background – remains in Iran and will have to serve his sentence unless successful with his appeal.

The Azerbaijanis, who are from Baku, were detained on 24 June 2016, along with several Iranian citizens, while visiting Iran as guests of Iranian Christian groups. Most of the detainees were released after being interrogated.

Article 18’s Advocacy Director, Mansour Borji, dismissed the charges as “illusory” and “a reflection of the Islamic republic’s security-oriented approach towards religious minorities”.

He added: “We are deeply concerned by the continuing use of baseless charges that seem to act as smokescreen for religiously motivated charges and are utilised to suppress the right to freedom of religion or belief in Iran. So many Christians in Iran are accused of these baseless charges merely for attending prayer meetings in the privacy of their homes.”

An Iranian Revolutionary Court judge has sentenced Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and Christian converts Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi and Hadi Asgari to 10 years in prison each and Amin Afshar-Naderi to 15 years for their participation in “house-churches”.

The four Christians have also been forbidden to leave Iran for two years. They will appeal against the verdict, which was pronounced by judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh. Their appeal process could take anywhere between two months and two years.

The Revolutionary Court found all four men guilty “action against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”. Amin received an additional five-year sentence for “insulting the sacred” (blasphemy).

Kavian and Amin were first arrested alongside Victor, their pastor, as they celebrated Christmas together in 2014. Victor, who led the Tehran Pentecostal Assyrian Church until its closure by Iran’s Interior Ministry in 2009, is of Assyrian descent and was found guilty of “conducting evangelism” and “illegal house-church activities”, among other charges. His convictions are believed to relate to actions before and after the closure of his church.

The four have been required to pay differing amounts for bail, ranging from 100-300 million tomans (between $30,000-$90,000). Victor and Kavian have posted bail, but Hadi and Amin remain in jail, where they have been since their arrest in August 2016 while on a picnic in the Alborz mountains north-east of Tehran. Three other Christians arrested at the picnic – including the pastor’s son, Ramiel – were later released on bail after each paying between $30,000-$60,000.

Earlier this year, Hadi and Amin went on hunger strike to protest against being denied medical treatment, having reportedly suffered ill health. Middle East Concern reported that Asgari had faced “particularly intense pressure” during his interrogation.

Meanwhile, Victor’s wife, Shamiram Issavi, and their son, Ramiel, await trials of their own. Shamiram was last month charged with “participating in foreign seminars” and “acting against Iranian national security” as a church member. She was released a day later on bail equivalent to $30,000.

Ramiel has been charged with “acting against national security” and “organising and creating house churches”, as well as charges relating to his father’s ministry.