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Woman convert, 62, sentenced to year in prison

Woman convert, 62, sentenced to year in prison

(Middle East Concern)

A 62-year-old woman convert to Christianity has been sentenced to one year in prison for “propaganda against the system”, reports Middle East Concern.

Rokhsareh (Mahrokh) Ghanbari was notified of her sentence today, two days after her appearance at a Revolutionary Court in Karaj.

Middle East Concern reported that the judge was “very rude” and “tried to humiliate Mahrokh after she disagreed with him”. 

Mahrokh was one of five female converts arrested just before Christmas during a raid on her home in Karaj. The names of the other four women have not yet been made public.

The officers confiscated several of Mahrokh’s belongings, including her mobile phone, Bibles and other Christian materials.

Mahrokh was then detained and interrogated from morning until evening for ten days, before being released on bail of 30 million tomans (around $2,500).

Middle East Concern said her treatment caused “distress to family and friends, who thought she would have been shown greater respect on account of her age”.

In January, Mahrokh was forced to visit an Islamic cleric to receive religious “instruction” and be offered the chance to reconvert to Islam.