Three Christian converts including a woman pregnant with her first child have had their long prison sentences upheld by a Tehran appeal court.

Narges Nasri, Abbas Soori and Mehran Shamloui were sentenced last month to a combined total of more than 40 years in prison on charges related to their religious beliefs and worship meetings.

On Saturday, the Christians were informed that the 36th branch of the Tehran appeal court had rejected their appeals.

The ruling, which was dated 23 April, stated that the Christians’ appeals had been rejected “in view of the scope of their activities, and their harmful effects”.

The appeal court’s decision is the latest example of a ruling based on vague wording, as is common in cases against Christians, as highlighted by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association, Gina Romero, last week at our annual report presentation in London.

The three Christians were arrested in November last year during concurrent raids by intelligence agents on their homes in Tehran, during which personal belongings including Bibles, crosses and musical instruments were confiscated.

The Christians were then transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence. They were released on bail equivalent to more than $20,000 each a month later, following a series of lengthy and intensive interrogations.

Their court hearing took place on 15 February at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, where they were officially charged with “membership of opposition groups”, “propaganda against the system” and “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law through foreign relations,” under Articles 499, 500 and 500 bis, respectively.

They were sentenced a month later, with pregnant Narges, 37, receiving the stiffest sentence – 10 years for “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law”, five for membership of an “opposition group” (house-church) and an additional one year for “propaganda against the state” – for having posted on social media in support of the Women, Life, Freedom movement.

Abbas, 48, received a total of 15 years in prison – 10 years for “propaganda activities” and five for membership of an “opposition group” – while Mehran, 37, received an eight-year sentence for the first charge and two years and eight months for the second.

All three were also sentenced to years of deprivation of social rights, such as to health, employment or education – 15 years each for Narges and Abbas, and 11 years for Mehran – while Narges and Abbas were fined 330 million tomans ($3,500) each, and Mehran 250 million ($2,750). Narges and Abbas were also banned from membership of any group, residing in their home province of Tehran or leaving Iran for two years after their release.

At least 10 other Christians, including Narges’ three sisters, were arrested on the same November day during raids on Christian homes across the country, including in the cities of Karaj (near Tehran), Mashhad in the north-east, and Shiraz and Bandar Abbas in the south.

Abbas was previously arrested in 2020 and later sentenced alongside another Christian convert, Maryam Mohammadi, and their pastor, an Iranian-Armenian, Anooshavan Avedian. Abbas and Maryam received non-custodial punishments including travel bans, exile from the province of Tehran and prohibition of membership in any political or social groups, while Anooshavan, who is in his 60s, was given a 10-year prison term. He was acquitted in September last year, having served just over one year of his sentence.