A Christian convert today began serving a 10-year prison sentence, just two days before Christmas.

Nayereh Arjaneh was arrested alongside her husband at their home in Garmsar on 7 July, due to their Christian activities, and is now in Semnan Prison, one and a half hour’s drive east of the couple’s home.

Nayereh has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison; however, under Iranian law, only the most severe sentence—five years of imprisonment in this case—is enforceable.

She was sentenced to five years’ unconditional imprisonment, a fine of 165 million tomans (around $1,500), two years’ internal exile in Kouhbanan in Kerman province (10 hours’ drive from home), and a two-year travel ban on charges of “promoting deviant propaganda and teachings contrary to Islamic law”.

In a separate charge, Nayereh was convicted of allegedly “providing financial and material support to groups affiliated with Zionist Christianity”, for which she was sentenced to an additional five years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 60 million tomans (around $500).

Farshid Safdari, the judge of Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Garmsar who issued the verdicts, acquitted Nayereh of a separate charge of “insulting religious sanctities”.

Nayereh’s husband, Qasem Esmaili, was sentenced separately to three years and six months in prison; however, his sentence has not yet been enforced due to his cancer diagnosis and ongoing chemotherapy treatment.

Nayereh previously received a six-month suspended prison sentence in 2022 for her Christian activities.

She is among a group of Christian converts who were arrested after attending a seminar in Turkey earlier this year, in the context of the so-called “12-day war” with Israel. Christian converts in Iran are not permitted to have a place to worship, build churches or establish Christian centres, and therefore some travel to neighbouring countries to attend church services and receive Christian religious teachings.

The Iranian authorities have repeatedly arrested members of religious minorities—particularly Baha’is and Christian converts—in connection with the 12-day war, accusing them of security-related offences without presenting evidence. United Nations human rights rapporteurs previously warned that in the aftermath of the conflict, the government may target religious minorities, including Christians.

Following her arrest, Nayereh spent nearly 40 days in detention and was initially released on bail of 500 million tomans (around $4,000). However, on 7 October she was summoned again for interrogation and detained for a further three days until her bail—raised by the prosecutor to 2 billion tomans (over $15,000)—was secured. She was then temporarily released on bail for a second time.

During her detention, Nayereh was subjected to psychological torture, including being threatened with execution.