A Christian convert who recently fractured her spine while falling out of her Evin Prison bunk bed has been released temporarily, pending the outcome of her appeal against her 17-year sentence.

Aida Najaflou, 44, was released from Evin Prison on Sunday, 21 December, after posting bail equivalent to over $75,000.

The news was announced by her lawyer, Saeedeh Hosseinzadeh, in a post on X.

موکل #آیدا_نجفلو که به موجب حکم دادگاه بدوی به ۱۰ سال حبس محکوم گردیده است با پذیرش قرار وثيقه به مبلغ ۱۰ میلیارد تومان موقتا از زندان آزاد گردید

— سعیده حسین‌زاده (@SaeedehHossein8) December 21, 2025

Ms Hosseinzadeh had previously raised serious concerns about her client’s health, warning of the risk of spinal cord severance.

Aida fractured her spine after falling from her prison bunk bed on 31 October and was operated on, but returned to prison despite not fully recovering, after which her condition has deteriorated.

Aida has two children, one of whom is unwell, and in her absence her family has faced significant difficulties in caring for the child.

She had been in prison since her arrest in February, and was has been sentenced to a total of 17 years on charges related to her Christian activities – though she will only have to serve the longest of her three sentences, which is 10 years.

Her case, along with those of four other Christians—Iranian-Armenians Joseph and Lida Shahbazian and Christian converts Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and one other unnamed individual—was heard by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by the notorious Judge Abolqasem Salavati. During two court hearings in September and October, the Christians faced charges including “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the system”, and were collectively sentenced to over half a century in prison.

These sentences were issued on the basis of the defendants’ Christian beliefs and peaceful religious activities, including the establishment of house-churches, the holding of prayer meetings and the celebration of Christmas.