Five Iranian Christians have been sentenced to a combined more than 50 years in prison on charges related to ordinary religious activities such as praying, performing baptisms, taking Communion and celebrating Christmas.

The five include two former prisoners of conscience, Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian and Christian convert Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, who were re-arrested in February having previously spent a combined six years in prison on charges related to their involvement in house-churches.

The other three are women – Joseph’s wife Lida, Christian convert Aida Najaflou, who recently fractured her spine after falling out her Evin Prison bunk bed, and a third woman whose name has not been made public.

The precise details of the verdict are not yet clear, but Article18 has been able to confirm that at least four of the Christians – all except Lida – received 10-year sentences under the amended Article 500 of the penal code, and that at least two of them received additional five-year terms for the second charge of “gathering and collusion”. 

Aida also received an additional two-year sentence on “propaganda” charges related to social media posts, while Lida has been sentenced to eight years.

Aida, who is 44 years old and suffers with rheumatoid arthritis, was recently admitted to hospital for a second time, after a wound created by her spinal surgery became infected in prison. Her lawyer posted on X on Sunday that she was concerned for her client’s long-term health, with fears of spinal cord damage if her condition is not managed properly.

The sentences were handed down by notorious judge Abolqasem Salavati following a second court hearing on 21 October at the 15th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, but only communicated to them verbally within the past two weeks.

The Christians have 20 days to appeal, and Article18 understands that they intend to do so.

On top of the prison sentences, the Christians’ personal property, including Bibles and other Christian literature, has been confiscated by the state for the “research” purposes of the Ministry of Intelligence – as happened in a previous case earlier this year involving two Christians sentenced to 12 years each in prison for “smuggling” Bibles into Iran.

Article18’s director, Mansour Borji, said the trial “bore many hallmarks of a lack of due process”, such as the Christians’ lengthy detention – Joseph, Aida and Nasser were detained for seven months before they were brought before a court – and extremely high bail demands.

In Joseph’s case, no bail was ever officially set, in spite of misleading communications to his family in this regard, while Aida and Nasser’s families couldn’t afford their bails – $130,000 for Aida and nearly $250,000 for Nasser, which is by far the highest ever demanded for an Iranian Christian’s temporary release from prison.

Nasser’s first imprisonment, which ended with his “pardoning” in October 2022 after nearly five years in Evin Prison, garnered international attention, including his “adoption” by UK parliamentarians, and a campaign to “#FreeNasserNavard”, which led to a report by the BBC.

Joseph, meanwhile, served just over a year in prison after his first 10-year sentence, before he too was “pardoned” in September 2023.

In March, Nasser suffered a stroke after going on hunger strike to protest against his re-arrest, while Joseph has also previously suffered from ill health.

Analysis

The June indictment against the Christians began with a quote from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s notorious October 2010 speech, in which he identified the spread of house-churches across Iran among the “critical threats” facing his Islamic Republic.

“In my view, Khamenei’s 2010 hate speech can therefore be understood to be directly responsible for the violence suffered by these and many other Christians,” Mr Borji said.

“The prosecutor goes on to suggest that Protestantism and ‘Zionist Christianity’ are one and the same, demonstrating how Iran’s intelligence agencies twist reality to guarantee convictions.

“He also wrongly presupposes that Iranian Christian organisations abroad are agents of foreign intelligence agencies, without offering a shred of evidence. And all of this is to justify and rationalise judicial violence.”

Specifically writing about Joseph, the prosecutor writes that “he is proud of his criminal activities”, adding: “In accordance with the teachings of the Protestant and Assemblies of God churches, the defendant considers the purpose and motivation of his evangelistic activities to be fulfilling the command and will of Christ to deliver the message of the Gospel to all nations and peoples of the world.”

Regarding Nasser, he writes: “The defendant, aware of the illegality of distributing evangelistic books, began distributing Bibles and Holy Scriptures… On several occasions, he has taken deliveries of the Persian Bible and kept them in his home. In his confession, the defendant explains the reason for this mission as follows: ‘This action is part of my faith as a Christian. I would like to learn Christian theology and share it with my loved ones in Christ.’”

Mr Borji commented: “These examples demonstrate clearly how Iranian Christians like Joseph, Nasser, Aida, Lida and the fifth Christian are convicted for no other reason than their ordinary Christian activities – including wanting to share their beliefs with others, and to provide them with the opportunity to read the Christian holy book.

“Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran claims to provide its citizens with religious freedom, when demonstrably no such freedom of choice exists.”