An Afghan Christian convert and refugee has begun serving a two-year prison sentence in Iran on “national security” charges related to his participation in a house-church, Article18 can confirm.

Teymur Hosseini, 45, who is known as Kourosh, began serving his sentence on 16 November, the same day as co-defendants and fellow Christian converts Daniel Mohammadi and Hannah Gholami.

All three are serving two-year sentences on charges of “forming” and “membership” of a “group or association (house-church) with the aim of disrupting national security”.

(House-churches are commonly labelled as “anti-state” groups by the authorities in Iran, despite their activities being no different from other churches around the world. House-churches are the only place of worship available to Christian converts, as they are not permitted to enter the churches of Iran’s ethnic Armenian and Assyrian minorities.)

Kourosh, a shoemaker who has lived in Iran for around 20 years and is married with three children, is serving his sentence in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. 

It was previously assumed that Daniel and Hannah had been transferred to Evin Prison, where they were detained following their initial arrests in December 2023, but it is now presumed that they too are in Ghezel Hesar, which is closer to their homes.

The fate of the fourth Christian convert tried alongside Kourosh, Daniel and Hannah remains unknown. This Christian, who has not been named, was sentenced to one year in prison on the charge of “aiding and abetting” others in the aforementioned alleged crimes.

Background

Daniel and Hannah were arrested following a raid by 30 intelligence agents on a house-church gathering in Shahriar on 11 December 2023, at around 7pm, when around 25 men, women and children had gathered to pray and worship together and to plan their Christmas celebration.

Kourosh and the unidentified Christian were arrested separately the same day following raids on their homes and workplaces in Karaj, and the two sets of arrests were later combined into one case by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Daniel, Kourosh and Hannah, who spent some time in the same cell as fellow Christian prisoner of conscience Mina Khajavi, were detained until mid-February, before being released on bail equivalent to $20,000 each. The unidentified Christian was released on a much lower bail amount, equivalent to around $300.

The four Christians were tried on 2 July 2024 at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar County, where they were sentenced under Article 498 of the Islamic Penal Code, related to organisation of “anti-state” groups.

The Christians’ appeals and application for a retrial with the Supreme Court were both rejected.