by Steve Dew-Jones | 10 Sep 2021 | Features
“Suffocating.” That’s the word Christian convert Alireza Mohammadpour uses to describe his treatment by agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, treatment that ultimately led him to flee his homeland. The 31-year-old, who is known as Parham, is now one of hundreds...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 10 Sep 2021 | Witness Statements
For a summary of Parham’s story, you can read our feature article here. Background and conversion 1. My name is Alireza (Parham) Mohammadpour, and I was born in 1990 in Nahavand [Hamadan Province], to a Laki-speaking [Kurdish dialect] family from the city of...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 6 Sep 2021 | News
Left to right: Ahmad Sarparast, Morteza Mashoodkari, and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh. Three converts were arrested last night in the northern city of Rasht, in the latest blow to the beleaguered Church there. Ahmad Sarparast, Morteza Mashoodkari, and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 3 Sep 2021 | Features
It was clear from the questions the interrogators asked him that Iman Ghaznavian Haghighi had been arrested only because of his Christian faith. “When and how did you start to believe in Jesus Christ? Where did you get your Bible? How many people did you evangelise?...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 3 Sep 2021 | Witness Statements
For a summary of Iman’s story, you can read our feature article here. Background 1. My name is Iman Ghaznavian Haghighi, and I was born in 1986 in Shiraz. My father passed away when I was 11 years old, so I had to study and work at the same time. A while later,...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 1 Sep 2021 | News
Iranian Christian Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh will be one of the first four prisoners of conscience to be “adopted” by UK parliamentarians as part of a new initiative to highlight abuses of religious freedom around the world. Nasser and the three others...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 28 Aug 2021 | Analysis
A series of leaked video clips have highlighted the shocking abuse of detainees inside Tehran’s Evin Prison, where over a dozen Christian converts are among hundreds of prisoners of conscience. In one clip, a detainee is beaten by prison guards, while in another an...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 27 Aug 2021 | News
Christian convert Hamed Ashouri has been released on leave from prison. Article18 understands that the 31-year-old, who is serving a 10-month sentence for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic”, may be permitted to spend the rest of his sentence at home, with an...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 26 Aug 2021 | News
Left to right: Milad Goodarzi, Amin Khaki, and Alireza Nourmohammadi. Three Christian converts were informed today that their appeals against five-year prison sentences have been rejected, but their sentences reduced to three years. Amin Khaki, Milad Goodarzi and...
by Steve Dew-Jones | 26 Aug 2021 | News
Left to right: Mohammad Ali (Davoud) Torabi, Mohammad Kayidgap, Esmaeil Narimanpour, and Alireza Varak-Shah. Intelligence agents in the southwestern city of Dezful are reportedly refusing to hand back the personal belongings of four Christian converts recently charged...
