Two Christians in their 60s who were “pardoned” and released after a combined six years in prison on charges related to their leadership of house-churches have been re-arrested, Article18 understands.

According to Article18’s sources, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Joseph Shahbazian were both re-arrested by intelligence agents at their homes in the Tehran region on the morning of 6 February, and taken back to the city’s notorious Evin Prison.

Both remain detained at the time of writing and Nasser is apparently refusing to eat in protest at his unlawful re-arrest, while Article18’s sources report that a number of other Tehran Christians were also arrested at the same time and remain in custody.

The reasons for the arrests remain unclear, but evoke memories of the pleas of the former prisoners of conscience who inspired the Place2Worship campaign by asking: 

“When I am released, will you put me back in prison again because I continue to believe in Christ? Will I be separated from my family again? Will I still be threatened with exile?”

Joseph and Nasser’s cases are among the most high-profile detentions of Christians in recent years, with both sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on charges amounting to “actions against national security” – due to their involvement in house-churches.

Nasser, who is 63 years old, was released in October 2022 after nearly five years in prison, while Joseph, who is 60, was released the following September after spending just over a year in Evin.

Joseph is Iranian-Armenian, while Nasser is a Christian convert, yet their re-arrests show once again how both groups remain potential targets of the Iranian authorities.

Indeed, as Article18’s new annual report shows, any Christians considered “unaligned” with the goals of the Islamic Republic can face arrest and imprisonment on “security” charges.

One of the recommendations in the report, which was presented at the United Nations in Geneva last month, is for the Iranian authorities to “end the criminalisation of house-church organisation and membership”, while a second recommendation asks for clarity on “where Persian-speaking Christians may worship freely in their mother tongue, without fear of arrest and prosecution”.

A third recommendation, meanwhile, calls on the Iranian authorities to “drop all charges against Christians related to church activities deemed lawful by the Iranian Supreme Court” – a reference to a 2021 ruling in Tehran which made clear that involvement in house-churches or even the propagation of what was referred to as the “Evangelical Zionist sect” should not be considered an “action against national security”.

Unfortunately, four years on, the continued arrests and re-arrests of Christians like Nasser and Joseph show that such judgments remain the exception, rather than the rule.