At least three trials involving Iranian Christians charged in relation to their religious faith and activities have been postponed amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.

Court hearings were due to take place in three cities, including Tehran, in recent days but were postponed indefinitely. Article18 is unable to provide further details.

Meanwhile, there are concerns for the Christians currently detained, including at least 11 in Tehran’s Evin Prison, which is located close to one of the areas that was told to evacuate earlier this week.

Eight political prisoners inside Evin have written a letter to the head of the judiciary, calling for their temporary release in line with an historic directive which provides for the release on bail of all prisoners – except those convicted of dangerous crimes – in times of crisis.

“It is unclear when the current war will end, and Evin Prison like many other prisons across the country does not have the facilities to protect prisoners’ lives from missile and drone attacks or bombings by Israeli fighter jets,” the letter stated.

Over 60 Christians are currently either detained or in the process of being tried on charges related to their faith in Iran.

In many cases, the individuals or their loved ones are required to make regular visits to the offices of the agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and other locations that are at risk of being the targets of attacks during the ongoing conflict.

Article18 is also aware of at least one Christian family that has been directly impacted by the result of air strikes, though we are not liberty to provide further details.

Earlier this week, Article18 released a statement, calling on the Islamic Republic to “abandon its inflammatory rhetoric and ideological hostility” and on the Israeli government to “refrain from targeting civilian infrastructure that could “worsen human suffering and make any future path towards peace and reconciliation all the more difficult to walk”.

You can read the full statement here.