An Iranian-Armenian pastor’s wife detained in Evin Prison for the past month on unknown charges has been released on bail equivalent to $50,000. 

Lida Alexani, 56, was released earlier today, one month and one day after her arrest at her home in Tehran.

Lida is the wife of Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian, who remains in Evin Prison more than three months after his re-arrest. The pastor was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a house-church, and spent over a year in Evin before his release in September 2023.

It is understood that Lida may be facing “propaganda” charges related to her involvement in house-churches, but throughout her detention she was never informed of any official charge, in violation of Iran’s own laws, under which detainees must be informed of any charges within 48 hours.

Article18’s director, Mansour Borji, commented: “Setting such a high bail amount for Lida has clearly been done with the intention of making it more difficult for the family to afford also to pay for the release of her husband, Joseph, who remains in custody more than three months after his re-arrest.”

He added: “The pressure on the Shahbazian family is the latest example in an increasing trend of almost holding entire families hostage in an attempt to forge a case against them. Rather than finding a fault in what Christians have done, increasingly the Iranian authorities are instead seeking to create cases by putting entire families under a lot of duress in order to extract a forced confession.

“Before her detention, Lida was interrogated previously in an attempt to gather evidence against her husband and other Christians. The interrogators, having failed to intimidate her into a forced confession, detained her for a longer period of solitary confinement and isolation, so that she would comply with their demands to protect her children.”

Several Christian friends of Joseph’s – including several present during his first arrest in 2020 – were called by Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) officers in recent weeks, in an attempt to gather more evidence against him.

“They tried to force us to cooperate with the MOIS by luring us and even threatening us,” one of the Christians told Article18 on condition of anonymity. “They wanted me to say something untrue against Brother Joseph, so they could build a case against him. The interrogator said, ‘If you don’t help us, we’ll have to resume our unfinished investigation against you!’”

Joseph reportedly faces charges including “propaganda against the regime”, “propaganda activities contrary to the holy religion of Islam through the establishment and operation of a house-church”, and “acquiring wealth through the illegitimate means of tithes and donations”. 

Article18’s 2025 annual report noted that Christians’ finances are increasingly being targeted, in an apparent “effort to isolate and financially undermine the Christian community as part of a broader strategy to suppress its growth and influence”.

“Making financial donations, charitable offerings, or paying tithes to support church activities are standard practices for Christians worldwide,” the report noted, “but such activities have been criminalised by Iran’s Revolutionary Courts.”