Court sentences four Christians to a total of 45 years in prison 5 July 2017 News Pastor Bet-Tamraz, Amin Afshar-Naderi, Kavian Fallah-Mohamadi and Hadi Asgari 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.
Christians converts end hunger strike after receiving assurances 17 February 2017 News Amin Afshar-Naderi (left) and Hadi Asgari have been in prison since August 2016. Imprisoned Christian converts Amin Afshar-Naderi and Hadi Asgari have ended their hunger strikes after receiving assurances their cases will be expedited. Amin and Hadi, who have been in prison since their arrest in August last year, began their hunger strikes on 5 and 11 February, respectively, in protest against the lack of progress in their case. On 15 February, Article18 reported that there were concerns over Amin’s health, 10 days into the hunger strike, as he suffered a reported kidney infection, dramatic loss of blood pressure, and denial of medical treatment. But just two days later, their hunger strike has ended after they were promised movement in their case and a reduction in their bail demands from 200 to 170 million tomans (around $50,000). Amin and Hadi were arrested alongside three other Christians at a private gathering in Firoozkooh, east of Tehran, nearly six months ago now. The other three Christians were released on bail in October and November, but Amin and Hadi have remained in detention, spending the first 82 days in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, before being transferred to Ward 4.
Christians converts on hunger strike in Evin Prison 15 February 2017 News Amin Afshar-Naderi (left) and Hadi Asgari have been on hunger strike since 5 February. There are concerns over the health of one of two Christian converts currently undertaking a hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison to protest against the lack of progress in their case. Amin Afshar-Naderi, who has been on hunger strike since 5 February, is reported to have suffered a kidney infection, while his weight has also dropped and his blood pressure fallen dangerously low. Amin was taken to hospital on 11 February, the seventh day of his hunger strike, but later returned to prison without treatment. His friend and fellow Christian prisoner of conscience Hadi Asgari began his own hunger strike on the day Amin was taken to hospital. They are protesting against the lack of progress in their case, more than five months after their arrest in Firoozkooh. The three other Christians arrested alongside them were released on bail in October and November. But Hadi and Amin have remained in detention, spending the first 82 days in solitary confinement in Ward 209, before being moved to Ward 4. Their families have been closely monitoring their cases, but have not been allowed to visit. Amin was first arrested alongside another Christian convert, Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, and their pastor, Victor Bet-Tamraz, in December 2014, as they celebrated Christmas together. Following that arrest – on charges of “membership of a house-church” – Amin spent 40 days in solitary confinement in Ward 209, before being released on bail of 100 million tomans (around $35,000).
Five Christians arrested during garden raid in Firoozkooh 29 August 2016 News Left to right: Mohammad Dehnavi, Hadi Asgari, Amin Afshar-Naderi, Ramiel Bet-Tamraz, and Amir-Saman Dashti. Five Christians have been arrested during a raid by 15 intelligence agents on a private garden in Firoozkooh, east of Tehran. The raid took place on the morning of Friday 26 August, when five of the approximately 15 Christians present were arrested. The names of those arrested are: Amin Afshar-Naderi, Hadi Asgari, Amir-Saman Dashti, Mohammad Dehnavi, and Ramiel Bet-Tamraz, son of Iranian-Assyrian pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz. Amin, who was last arrested alongside Pastor Victor and fellow Christian convert Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi during a Christmas celebration in 2014, was beaten for protesting against the illegal entry of the intelligence agents into the property. The five Christians were then transferred to Evin detention centre, from where at least one of them was able to call their family the following day to let them know where they were being held. They have been verbally accused of engaging in “evangelistic activity” through membership of a house-church, but no court hearing has yet taken place. The families of those arrested have expressed concern that Ministry of Intelligence officials, for lack of sufficient evidence to convict the defendants of the Christmas 2014 arrests, would pressure them into testifying against one another.
Christian convert begins hunger strike after beating by prison guards 12 July 2016 News Christian prisoner of conscience Ebrahim Firouzi has begun a hunger strike after he was beaten by prison guards in Karaj’s Rajaei Shahr Prison for refusing to attend an appeal hearing because the court had not accepted new evidence submitted in his case. After being forced to attend the hearing, it transpired that one of the judges was on leave, while the other told Ebrahim there was no need for him to be there, as his lawyer could speak on his behalf. Ebrahim began his hunger strike yesterday to protest against his mistreatment and to call for legal action against the officers who beat him. The prison officers have subsequently threatened to intensify his punishment and file a new case against him. Ebrahim is currently serving a five-year sentence for being part of a house-church, for which he was convicted of “running illegal and anti-security organisations in order to promote deviant ‘Zionist’ Christianity”. Before this sentence, handed down to him in April 2015, Ebrahim had already spent one year in prison for “propaganda against the regime by establishing and organising Christian gatherings” and “having contacts with anti-revolutionary networks outside Iran”. He also faces two years in exile in the remote southeastern city of Sarbaz following his release. Ebrahim is currently in Hall 31, Ward 10 of the Karaj prison.
Christian convert returned to prison without medical treatment 31 May 2016 News Christian convert Maryam (Nasim) Naghash Zargaran has been taken back to prison from hospital without receiving any medical treatment, despite falling unconscious during a hunger strike. Nasim was taken to hospital after falling ill on 29 May, the fourth day of her hunger strike in protest against the prosecutor’s refusal to grant her parole. Nasim qualifies for parole, having served over one-third of her four-year sentence. According to a report from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Nasim’s blood pressure “suddenly dropped and she was transferred, while unconscious, from prison to the hospital”. But despite her condition, Nasim was returned to prison later the same day, having received no treatment. “It was a few minutes before she recognised her relatives who came to see her in the hospital,” the campaign group’s source reported. “She needed to stay, but they returned her to prison without proper treatment. “Maryam took pills for her heart disease before she was sent to prison, and doctors had told her to stay away from stressful situations. But after her imprisonment, stress and psychological pressures have made her condition much worse.“She has problems with her middle ear, and doctors have recommended surgery, but nothing has been done about it. She has lost so much weight that her family was shocked when they last saw her… We are worried for her health. Her life is in danger.” Nasim has been in prison since July 2013, serving a four-year prison sentence for “propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic and gathering and conspiracy against the security of the country” through “the expansion of house-churches inside the country”.
Saeed Abedini released in US prisoner swap 16 January 2016 News Saeed Abedini has been released after three and a half years in prison, as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. Saeed was released alongside three fellow Iranian-Americans: Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian. Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed the news, saying: “In line with the approvals of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran and the general interests of the regime, four Iranian dual nationals were released today in the framework of the prisoner exchange.” The news of the release of the four dual national prisoners comes as the implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal in Vienna is expected to be announced in the next few hours in the presence of the Iranian and US secretaries of state. The release of these dual nationals is part of an agreement between Iran and the United States to exchange prisoners. Twelve Iranians are being held in the United States on charges of “circumventing sanctions” and seven are said to be set to be released. Saeed was serving an eight-year prison sentence for “setting up house churches in order to disturb the security of the country” and “collusion to commit a crime”. He said that during his interrogations he’d also been threatened with death. He was arrested in September 2012 while on a visit from his home in America to Iran, where he was seeking to establish an orphanage. He was first sentenced to death in the early winter of 2012, but after an appeal was sentenced to eight years in prison by Judge Pir-Abassi of Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, in January 2013. His appeal was later rejected by Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals in Tehran. Saeed, who is 34 years old, has been suffering from urinary tract and kidney disease. He began his sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but was later transferred to Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj. His wife, Naghmeh, has spoken out against the mistreatment of her husband in prison, saying he has been repeatedly beaten during interrogations and that he suffered internal bleeding but was denied treatment. Iran is 9th on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Iran’s ranking in this list has dropped from seventh in 2014 to ninth in 2015, despite the worsening situation of violation of religious freedoms in the country. The reason for the decline is the unprecedented escalation of anti-Christian actions in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Christian converts in Iran continue to be arrested and given prison sentences simply as a result of their religious activities. There are currently at least 103 Christians in prison in Iran.
Meysam Hojati released on bail 10 January 2016 News Meysam Hojjati, a 34-year-old Christian convert arrested two days before Christmas, was released on bail on Wednesday after 15 days’ detention. Meysam was arrested on Wednesday, 23 December, by four members of Isfahan’s Ministry of Intelligence, who slapped him in the face, in front of his parents, and confiscated personal items including his Bible, Christian pamphlets, computer, phone, and the Christmas tree. He was handcuffed and blindfolded, then taken to an unknown location, where he was kept in solitary confinement for 12 days in a small room (about 2×3 metres) that had no windows. He was interrogated for 10-12 hours daily and beaten and threatened when he failed to provide an acceptable answer. He was also forced to sign a commitment to have no further involvement in Christian activities. He was transferred to the prison’s “Alef Ta” ward for security prisoners two days before his release. After following up on his case, his parents were summoned to an Isfahan Revolutionary Court on 6 January, then Meysam was released after submitting a property deed to secure his 100 million toman bail (around $65,000). He has been charged with “baptism, propagating Christianity, teaching and distributing the Bible, and encouraging the establishment and organisation house-churches”.
Convert arrested two days before Christmas in Isfahan 31 December 2015 News Two days before Christmas, a Christian convert, Meysam Hojati, was arrested by intelligence agents in Isfahan, and no news has been available since that day. His family also remains unaware of his whereabouts. Four officials from the Isfahan Intelligence Ministry arrived at Meysam’s home on Wednesday morning, 23 December, and beat him in front of his parents. They then searched the home and took several items, such as his computer, phone, Bible, hymnbook and Christian pamphlets – and the Christmas tree. Meysam was placed in handcuffs and blindfolded, then taken to an unknown location. The agents also threatened Meysam’s parents not to say anything about their son’s arrest, and confiscated their mobile phones. Article18’s Advocacy Director, Mansour Borji, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “Agents of the Intelligence Ministry in Isfahan scolded him in front of his parents, slapped him on the face, searched his home and took his personal belongings. “The plainclothes officers, who introduced themselves as officers from the Isfahan Intelligence Service, entered his father’s house by showing a sheet of paper entitled ‘search and inspection warrant’. “According to the law, respect for legitimate freedoms and the protection of citizens’ rights, the agents should not beat the defendant during the arrest or confiscate items unrelated to the crime. These behaviours are a clear sign of disrespect for the followers of a religion.” The arrest is the latest targeting Christians at Christmas time. Last year, Victor Bet-Tamraz, former leader of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Tehran, along with two of his guests, was arrested at a Christmas gathering in Tehran. Borji commented: “By making these arrests around this time the government hopes to intimidate converts by threatening them with heavy punishments … so that they would either leave the country or stop their [religious] activities.” Meysam, whose friends know him as Soroush, has been arrested once before, in February 2012. That incident followed a wave of arrests of evangelical Christians in Isfahan, including Anglican pastor Hekmat Salimi. During his interrogation, he was accused of “attending house churches, spreading Christianity, keeping a Bible, and communicating with Christian organisation abroad”. He was released on bail after two months.
Farshid Fathi released after 5 years in prison 22 December 2015 News Prisoner of conscience Farshid Fathi has been released from Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj after five years’ imprisonment. Farshid has been in detention ever since his arrest on 26 December 2010, when he was one of dozens of Christians arrested during raids on house-churches across the country. A few days after his arrest, the governor of Tehran, Morteza Tamadon, likened the spread of Christianity to the “plague” and called Evangelical Christianity a “corrupt and deviant” sect. Farshid, who is 36 years old and has two children, spent 15 months in Evin Prison without any verdict until he was sentenced to six years in prison in March 2012 for “acting against national security, communicating with foreign organisations and promoting Christianity”. Farshid has spent time in both Rajaei Shahr Prison and Tehran’s Evin Prison and was among 30 prisoners of conscience badly beaten by prison guards in Ward 350 of Evin Prison in April 2014. At least four prisoners, including Farshid, suffered such serious injuries that they had to be transferred to hospitals outside of the prison. The attack was widely condemned by international organisations, but prison authorities denied wrongdoing and sought to pin the blame on the prisoners. In the wake of the incident, the prison authorities transferred several inmates to other prisons, including Farshid, who was sent to Rajaei Shahr in August 2014, at the behest of the Revolutionary Court. Then in December 2014, Farshid was handed an additional year’s imprisonment, 74 lashes and a fine of 200,000 tomans (around $65) for alleged possession of alcohol. However, in July 2015 he was notified that he was set for early release. During his incarceration, Farshid spent time with other imprisoned Christians such as Fariborz Azram, Alireza Seyyedian, Saeed Abedini, Ebrahim Firoozi, and Rasoul Abdullahi.