One of the five Christian converts recently sentenced to a combined total of more than 40 years in prison was tortured during his six-month pre-trial detention, Article18 can reveal.

Morteza Faghanpour-Saasi was one of at least seven converts arrested in the cities of Varamin and Pishva last June, after which they were detained in Evin Prison for between one and six months and pressured to sign statements renouncing their faith in order to receive reductions in their sentences.

In July 2025, five of the Christians were sentenced at the 1st Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Varamin to seven and a half years for “propaganda activity contrary to Islamic law due to overseas connections” and seven months for “propaganda against the system”.

Morteza was also given an additional 17-month sentence for allegedly insulting Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, on social media.

Morteza was arrested at his workplace on 12 June, after which agents raided his home and confiscated personal belongings including his Bible, other Christian literature and images, and the cross on his wall. The propaganda charges against him related to his alleged “illegal” distribution of Christian books and having taken part in Christian courses and church services online.

According to Article18’s sources, Morteza was tortured during the 20 days he spent in Ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, the ward under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Intelligence. Prior to this he also spent a month in Ward 240 and subsequently spent four months in Ward 8 of the prison as he could not afford his bail.

Morteza is the second of the five Christians to be identified, following publication last week of the sentencing of Hessamuddin Mohammad Junaidi. A third member of the group, Abolfazl Ahmadzadeh-Khajani, was also identified by Iranian Christian website Mohabat News today, as it confirmed that the appeals of the five Christians against their sentences were today rejected by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeal.