Violations of the rights of Christians in Iran Summary of arrests and detention of Christians since 2012 The table below showcases the ongoing or recent cases of Iranian Christians who have been arrested and detained, or are still awaiting trial, due to their religious faith and/or activities. The list is prepared mainly from public sources and is not exhaustive – confidential cases are omitted for security reasons. Notable cases dating back to 2012 are also included.*Note: If viewing table on a mobile device, switch to landscape orientation. Full Name : Location of arrest : Currently held at : Status : Sentence : Full Name Date of 1st arrest Location of arrest Short Summary Currently held at Status Charges Bail amount Sentence Somayeh Rajabi 06/02/25 Gatab Somayeh was arrested during an evening raid by at least 20 plainclothes officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a gathering of around 80 Christians in a garden in Gatab, Mazandaran Province, where Christians from the nearby cities of Gorgan and Babol had joined together. Bibles, musical instruments and communication devices were confiscated, while the agents also demanded access to personal details and mobile-phone passwords. The agents also conducted body searches, with those wearing cross necklaces singled out and officers forcibly tearing them off, injuring several individuals. Meanwhile, emergency medical personnel who attempted to assist the injured were blocked by the agents. A day after her arrest, Somayeh was permitted a brief phone call to her family, informing them that she had been transferred to a prison in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province. After her interrogations were completed, she was transferred to Mati Kola Prison in Babol, and then released on bail on 8 March 2025. Temporarily released on bail “Gathering and collusion”, “Propaganda against the regime” Over $40,000 Ghazal Marzban 05/11/24 Tehran Ghazal was arrested after protesting against the harassment she had endured since converting to Catholicism seven years prior. After her conversion, the Islamic law graduate was prevented from taking her bar examination and pressured to leave the country, while her husband, a fellow convert, had been unable to access the medication he required for his Parkinson’s disease. Ghazal was arrested by officers of the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, or FARAJA, and taken to the Vozara detention centre in Tehran, before being transferred to Evin Prison. Ghazal underwent a five-day hunger strike in further protest at her arrest and the lack of movement in her case. On 10 December 2024, she was charged by the notorious judge of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Iman Afshari, with “being in public places and public view without a religious hijab” and “propaganda against the regime by chanting slogans”. On 30 December 2024, Ghazal was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and 74 lashes for the “propaganda” charge; the charge relating to the hijab was dropped. She was released on 4 January 2025, having completed one-third of her sentence. The remainder of her custodial sentence, and the lashes, will be enforced should she “reoffend”. Released "Being in public places and public view without a religious hijab”, “Propaganda against the regime by chanting slogans" Narges Nasri 03/11/24 Tehran Christian convert Narges was arrested by intelligence agents during concurrent raids on the homes of at least 13 Christians in Tehran, Karaj, Bandar Abbas, Shiraz and Mashhad, during which personal belongings including Bibles, crosses and musical instruments were confiscated. Narges and two other Tehran Christians, Abbas Soori and Mehran Shamloui, were taken to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and released a month later on bail equivalent to more than $20,000, following a series of lengthy and intensive interrogations. Their court hearing took place on 15 February 2025 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, where they were officially charged under Articles 499, 500 and 500 of the penal code. On 8 March 2025, the three Christians were sentenced to a combined 41 years in prison, fined, and deprived of social rights. Narges and Abbas were also banned from membership of any group, residing in their home province of Tehran or leaving Iran for two years after their release. Sentenced “Membership of an opposition group”, “Propaganda against the system”, “Propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law through foreign relations” $27,000 16yrs in Prison, Fine, 2yrs Travel Ban, 2yrs in Exile, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group, Deprivation of Social Rights Mehran Shamloui 03/11/24 Tehran Christian convert Mehran was arrested by intelligence agents during concurrent raids on the homes of at least 13 Christians in Tehran, Karaj, Bandar Abbas, Shiraz and Mashhad, during which personal belongings including Bibles, crosses and musical instruments were confiscated. Mehran and two other Tehran Christians, Narges Nasri and Abbas Soori, were taken to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and released a month later on bail equivalent to more than $20,000, following a series of lengthy and intensive interrogations. Their court hearing took place on 15 February 2025 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, where they were officially charged under Articles 499, 500 and 500 of the penal code. On 8 March 2025, the three Christians were sentenced to a combined 41 years in prison, fined, and deprived of social rights. Narges and Abbas were also banned from membership of any group, residing in their home province of Tehran or leaving Iran for two years after their release. Sentenced “Membership of an opposition group”, “Propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law through foreign relations” $22,000 10yrs in Prison, Fine, 2yrs Travel Ban, Deprivation of Social Rights Mojdeh Falahi 09/09/24 Shiraz Mojdeh, whose two older sisters were arrested five years prior for their Christian activities, was arrested at the prosecutor’s office in Shiraz, and has not been heard from since. Article18 understands that she is being detained in the Pelak-e 100 detention centre, which is under the jurisdiction of Iran’s intelligence ministry. According to a source familiar with the case, Mojdeh had gone to the prosecutor’s office at around lunchtime at the request of a Christian friend, who had been arrested the day before, in order to provide him with some documents required for his release. However, once she arrived, Mojdeh was immediately detained and is now being held on charges filed under the titles of “Christianity” and “illegal Christian activities”. Mojdeh’s family have visited the prosecutor’s office several times since her arrest and asked to see her, but they have not been permitted to, and neither has Mojdeh been granted access to a lawyer. She was released on bail on 8 October 2024. Pelak-e 100-Shiraz Temporarily released on bail “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic”, "Propagation of Zionist Christianity" 2.5 billion tomans ($40,000) Farrokh Kakaei 26/05/2024 Karaj Christian convert Farrokh was arrested at his home in Karaj by four plainclothes officers of the Ministry of Intelligence, and taken to an unknown location. The arresting agents confiscated a framed image of Jesus, along with Farrokh’s laptop, mobile phone, and computer hard-drive. In June 2024, his wife and two daughters expressed their increasing concern for his well-being, saying they did not know where he was being held, or on what charges. Unknown Unknown Unknown Laleh Saati 13/02/2024 Tehran Laleh, a Christian convert who was baptised in a church in Malaysia, returned to Iran in 2017, having grown frustrated at the time it was taking to process her asylum claim, and also to be reunited with her elderly parents. She was reportedly summoned and interrogated by intelligence agents on numerous occasions after returning to Iran. Then, on 13 February 2024, she was arrested at her father’s home in Ekbatan Town, a suburb of Tehran, and taken to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Intelligence. Laleh was reportedly interrogated for around three weeks in Ward 209 – during which time photographs and videos of her Christian activities and baptism in Malaysia were brought before her as evidence of her “crime” – before being transferred to the women’s ward of the prison. On 16 March 2024, she was brought before an increasingly notorious judge, Iman Afshari, at Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, who reportedly asked her why she had risked returning to Iran and a court case being opened against her, “given that you have done such things [Christian activities] outside of Iran”. Laleh’s sentence was communicated to her lawyer on 25 March 2024. Her family were then informed and able to pass on the information to Laleh in prison. In May 2024, Laleh's mother said her daughter was struggling with the pressure she had been placed under and needed psychological support, and in July 2024 both Ms Saati and her mother were reportedly threatened with additional charges due to the publicity Laleh's case had received. In September 2024, it was reported that Laleh had been refused parole or release with an electronic tag because she had refused to publicly refute the reports about her case and to record a forced confession. Evin Prison-Tehran Serving sentence "Acting against national security by connecting with ‘Zionist’ Christian organisations” 2yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban Iman Golzar 16/01/2024 Dezful Iman was arrested at his home at midnight by plainclothes agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, who showed no warrant and confiscated his computer and CCTV cameras. The Christian convert was then taken away to an unknown location and held incommunicado, despite the efforts of his parents, who are deaf, to discover his whereabouts and condition. His parents were told to stop asking questions about him, and threatened that they would be “dealt with” should they continue pursuing his case. Iman was released on bail on 7 February 2024, having been reportedly placed under “severe mental and emotional pressure” during his detention. Temporarily released on bail Unknown 2 billions tomans (around $38,000) Hossein (Youhana) Sha’bani 08/01/2024 Karaj Youhana, who is married and has two young children, was summoned on 8 January by Ministry of Intelligence agents who interrogated him for three hours about his house-church. On 16 January, he was told he must present himself before the prosecutor, where on 20 February he was charged under the amended Article 500 of the penal code, after which Youhana was released on bail of 300 million tomans ($3,500). Temporarily released on bail “Teaching activities that educate in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam, through making false religious claims” 300 million tomans ($3,500) Javad Amini 26/12/2023 Nowshahr Javad was among 20 Christians first arrested by armed agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in Nowshahr and nearby Chalus in coordinated raids on their homes in the early hours of the morning after Christmas in 2023, when the agents filmed themselves as they confiscated personal items including identity papers, Bibles and other Christian literature. Some of the Christians were released later that day, after questioning, but at least nine, including Jahangir, were transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sari, where they were interrogated regarding their faith and peaceful Christian activities. On the morning of their arrest, the investigator of the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Nowshahr briefly met with the detained Christians but did not officially notify them of any charges they may be facing. In the interrogations that followed, the Christians were verbally accused of “establishing house-churches”, “propagating Christianity” and following a “religion disturbing to the holy religion of Islam”, before being released on bail after between two and five weeks’ detention. Additionally, the Christians were prohibited from leaving Iran for the next six months. In May 2024, several family members of the arrested Christians were summoned for prolonged interrogations, during which they were threatened, insulted and intimidated. At least one female family member was reportedly beaten by her male interrogator. The interrogators attempted to force the families of the accused Christians to confess to having had contact with foreign countries or Christian organisations abroad. On 27 August 2024, 14 of the Christians, including Javad, were summoned to the 1st Branch of the Prosecutor’s Office of the General and Revolutionary Court of Nowshahr to present their last defence against charges of “collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press”. Three of the Christians were re-arrested on 23 and 24 September 2024, and released on bail on 17 November 2024. But on that same day, Javad and two other Christians were arrested, alongside Javad's wife, Farzaneh, and uncle. Javad's family members were released after questioning, but Javad and the two other Christians were detained for 10 days, until their release on bail on 27 November 2024. The day before their release, the trial of Javad and 11 others took place at Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Nowshahr, in Javad's absence. Temporarily released on bail “Propagating a religion contrary to Islam”, “Collaborating with foreign governments” 1 billion tomans ($15,000) Jahangir Alikhani 26/12/2023 Nowshahr Jahangir was among 20 Christians first arrested by armed agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in Nowshahr and nearby Chalus in coordinated raids on their homes in the early hours of the morning after Christmas in 2023, when the agents filmed themselves as they confiscated personal items including identity papers, Bibles and other Christian literature. Some of the Christians were released later that day, after questioning, but at least nine, including Jahangir, were transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sari, where they were interrogated regarding their faith and peaceful Christian activities. On the morning of their arrest, the investigator of the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Nowshahr briefly met with the detained Christians but did not officially notify them of any charges they may be facing. In the interrogations that followed, the Christians were verbally accused of “establishing house-churches”, “propagating Christianity” and following a “religion disturbing to the holy religion of Islam”, before being released on bail after between two and five weeks’ detention. Additionally, the Christians were prohibited from leaving Iran for the next six months. In May 2024, several family members of the arrested Christians were summoned for prolonged interrogations, during which they were threatened, insulted and intimidated. At least one female family member was reportedly beaten by her male interrogator. The interrogators attempted to force the families of the accused Christians to confess to having had contact with foreign countries or Christian organisations abroad. On 27 August 2024, 14 of the Christians, including Jahangir, were summoned to the 1st Branch of the Prosecutor’s Office of the General and Revolutionary Court of Nowshahr to present their last defence against charges of “collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press”. On 23 and 24 September 2024, as the Christians awaited the outcome of their trial, Jahangir and two others, Hamed Malamiri, and Gholam Eshaghi, were re-arrested by intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who violently searched their homes, overturning sofas, before taking the Christians away to an unknown location. They were believed to have been taken to Sari, three hours’ drive from Nowshahr, but their families heard no word from them a month after their arrest, while the Christians were also reportedly denied access to a lawyer. They were released on bail on 17 November 2024, but three other Christians were detained that same day. Their trial took place on 26 November 2024 at Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Nowshahr. Temporarily released on bail “Collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press” 1 billion tomans ($15,000) Gholam Eshaghi 26/12/2023 Nowshahr Gholam was among 20 Christians first arrested by armed agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in Nowshahr and nearby Chalus in coordinated raids on their homes in the early hours of the morning after Christmas in 2023, when the agents filmed themselves as they confiscated personal items including identity papers, Bibles and other Christian literature. Some of the Christians were released later that day, after questioning, but at least nine, including Gholam, were transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sari, where they were interrogated regarding their faith and peaceful Christian activities. On the morning of their arrest, the investigator of the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Nowshahr briefly met with the detained Christians but did not officially notify them of any charges they may be facing. In the interrogations that followed, the Christians were verbally accused of “establishing house-churches”, “propagating Christianity” and following a “religion disturbing to the holy religion of Islam”, before being released on bail after between two and five weeks’ detention. Additionally, the Christians were prohibited from leaving Iran for the next six months. In May 2024, several family members of the arrested Christians were summoned for prolonged interrogations, during which they were threatened, insulted and intimidated. At least one female family member was reportedly beaten by her male interrogator. The interrogators attempted to force the families of the accused Christians to confess to having had contact with foreign countries or Christian organisations abroad. On 27 August 2024, 14 of the Christians, including Gholam, were summoned to the 1st Branch of the Prosecutor’s Office of the General and Revolutionary Court of Nowshahr to present their last defence against charges of “collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press”. On 23 and 24 September 2024, as the Christians awaited the outcome of their trial, Gholam and two others, Jahangir Alikhani and Hamed Malamiri, were re-arrested by intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who violently searched their homes, overturning sofas, before taking the Christians away to an unknown location. They were believed to have been taken to Sari, three hours’ drive from Nowshahr, but their families heard no word from them a month after their arrest, while the Christians were also reportedly denied access to a lawyer. They were released on bail on 17 November 2024, but three other Christians were detained that same day. Their trial took place on 26 November 2024 at Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Nowshahr. Temporarily released on bail “Collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press” 1 billion tomans ($15,000) Hamed Malamiri 26/12/2023 Nowshahr Hamed was among 20 Christians first arrested by armed agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in Nowshahr and nearby Chalus in coordinated raids on their homes in the early hours of the morning after Christmas in 2023, when the agents filmed themselves as they confiscated personal items including identity papers, Bibles and other Christian literature. Some of the Christians were released later that day, after questioning, but at least nine, including Hamed, were transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sari, where they were interrogated regarding their faith and peaceful Christian activities. On the morning of their arrest, the investigator of the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Nowshahr briefly met with the detained Christians but did not officially notify them of any charges they may be facing. In the interrogations that followed, the Christians were verbally accused of “establishing house-churches”, “propagating Christianity” and following a “religion disturbing to the holy religion of Islam”, before being released on bail after between two and five weeks’ detention. Additionally, the Christians were prohibited from leaving Iran for the next six months. In May 2024, several family members of the arrested Christians were summoned for prolonged interrogations, during which they were threatened, insulted and intimidated. At least one female family member was reportedly beaten by her male interrogator. The interrogators attempted to force the families of the accused Christians to confess to having had contact with foreign countries or Christian organisations abroad. On 27 August 2024, 14 of the Christians, including Hamed, were summoned to the 1st Branch of the Prosecutor’s Office of the General and Revolutionary Court of Nowshahr to present their last defence against charges of “collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press”. On 23 and 24 September 2024, as the Christians awaited the outcome of their trial, Hamed and two others, Jahangir Alikhani and Gholam Eshaghi, were re-arrested by intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who violently searched their homes, overturning sofas, before taking the Christians away to an unknown location. They were believed to have been taken to Sari, three hours’ drive from Nowshahr, but their families heard no word from them a month after their arrest, while the Christians were also reportedly denied access to a lawyer. They were released on bail on 17 November 2024, but three other Christians were detained that same day. Their trial took place on 26 November 2024 at Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Nowshahr. Temporarily released on bail “Collaborating with hostile foreign countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting to the religion of Islam and its sanctities through the press” 1 billion tomans ($15,000) Unknown Yasin Mousavi 24/12/2023 Izeh Yasin was one of at least 46 Iranian Christians arrested over the Christmas period in 2023. He was held in solitary confinement for 20 days at a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre, before being transferred to Shiban Prison in Ahvaz. Yasin was released on bail of 2 billion tomans (around $30,000) on 20 April 2024, and on 27 May 2024, at the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court, Judge Mehdi Fathinia sentenced him to 10 years in prison for “membership of a group intent on disrupting national security” and a further five years for “propaganda against the regime through the promotion of ‘Zionist’ Christianity”, under Article 500 of the penal code. Yasin has been arrested on three previous occasions, including during the protests of 2022. The indictment against Yasin alleged that he “played an active role in the protests”, as well as having been “one of the leaders” of an evangelical Christian organisation in the region. Yasin previously spent three months in Shiban Prison following an arrest in 2017, and a further three months there in 2021. Seven other Christians were sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison as part of the same case. Hamid Afzali received a 10-year sentence, Nasrullah Mousavi, Bijan Gholizadeh and Iman Salehi were given 5 years, two unidentified individuals were sentenced to 2 years, and Zahrab Shahbazi to 9 months. Temporarily released on bail “Membership of a group intent on disrupting national security”, “Propaganda against the regime through the promotion of ‘Zionist’ Christianity” 2 billion tomans (around $30,000) 15yrs in Prison Bijan Gholizadeh 24/12/2023 Izeh Bijan was one of at least 46 Iranian Christians arrested over the Christmas period. He was detained for nearly six months, including 20 days in solitary confinement. On 27 May 2024, he was sentenced to five years in prison as a result of his membership of a house-church, which was labelled a “group that intends to disrupt national security”. The sentence was pronounced by Judge Mehdi Fathinia of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court. Seven other Christians were convicted as part of the same judgement, including Yasin Mousavi, who was sentenced to 15 years. Also sentenced were Hamid Afzali to 10 years; Nasrullah Mousavi and Iman Salehi to five years; two unnamed individuals to two years; and Zahrab Shahbazi to nine months. Another Christian convert, Esmaeil Narimanpour, was sentenced the following day to five years in prison for “acting against national security by communicating with Christian ‘Zionist’ organisations”. On 24 August 2024, Bijan, who was a father to three daughters, died in a road accident while driving his truck on the Borujen Road south of Isfahan. He had only been released on bail a few weeks prior and was still awaiting the result of his appeal. N/A Deceased “Propaganda against the regime through the promotion of ‘Zionist’ Christianity” Unknown 5yrs in Prison Teymour Hosseini 14/12/2023 Shahriar On 11 December 2023, 30 intelligence agents raided a house-church gathering, where around 25 men, women and children had gathered to pray and worship together and to plan their Christmas celebration. The agents read out the names of three of the individuals present, two of whom – a woman in her early thirties and a 70-year-old man – were arrested on the spot, while the third, Siroos Khosravi, was arrested three days later after answering a summons for further questioning. All three of the individuals whose names had been read out were driven to their homes, which were searched, while all others present at the gathering were forced to fill out forms containing questions regarding their Christian faith and activities, and told they would soon be summoned for further questioning. Afghan refugee Teymour was arrested separately, though the details of his arrest remain unknown; his fate was only discovered when the families of those arrested in Shahriar saw him in handcuffs alongside their loved ones, when visiting the prosecutor’s office to seek information about them the day after their arrests. On 29 February 2024, Siroos and Teymour were released on bail. On 26 May 2024, Teymour and the two unnamed converts, as well as another convert who had been arrested separately, were summoned to court to face charges of “establishing and membership of a group, society, or branch, inside the country, to disrupt the security of the country”. They were sentenced in June 2024, though the details were not made public, and at the end of 2024 they were still awaiting the result of their appeals. Temporarily released on bail “Establishing and membership of a group, society, or branch, inside the country, to disrupt the security of the country” Siroos Khosravi 14/12/2023 Shahriar On 11 December 2023, 30 intelligence agents raided a house-church gathering, where around 25 men, women and children had gathered to pray and worship together and to plan their Christmas celebration. The agents read out the names of three of the individuals present, two of whom – a woman in her early thirties and a 70-year-old man – were arrested on the spot, while the third, Siroos Khosravi, was arrested three days later after answering a summons for further questioning. All three of the individuals whose names had been read out were driven to their homes, which were searched, while all others present at the gathering were forced to fill out forms containing questions regarding their Christian faith and activities, and told they would soon be summoned for further questioning. An Afghan refugee, Teymour Hosseini, was arrested separately, though the details of his arrest remain unknown; his fate was only discovered when the families of those arrested in Shahriar saw him in handcuffs alongside their loved ones, when visiting the prosecutor’s office to seek information about them the day after their arrests. On 29 February 2024, Siroos and Teymour Hosseini were released on bail. On 26 May 2024, Teymour and the two unnamed converts, as well as another convert who had been arrested separately, were summoned to court to face charges of “establishing and membership of a group, society, or branch, inside the country, to disrupt the security of the country”. They were sentenced in June 2024, though the details were not made public, and at the end of 2024 they were still awaiting the result of their appeals. Temporarily released on bail Amir Nourmohammadi 11/12/2023 Karaj Amir and his brother Alireza were arrested alongside fellow house-church member Milad Goodarzi, as well as Alireza’s son. Milad and Alireza’s son were released on bail later that same day, but the two brothers remained in detention until their release on bail on 10 January 2024, when they were each forced to submit approximately $3,000. Meanwhile, several other families associated with the same house-church were summoned and interrogated regarding their faith and religious activities. Alireza and Amir have been charged under the controversially amended Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, the second time Alireza has been charged under the new law, having only been released in March 2023 after 16 months in Karaj Central Prison on similar charges. Alireza served those 16 months alongside Milad and another house-church member, Amin Khaki, all of whom had previously spent time in prison, back in 2019, following charges of “propaganda against the state”. Temporarily released on bail “Deviant educational or propaganda activities contrary to the holy Islamic law by making false claims in religious fields” Around $3,000 Amir-Ali Minaei 07/12/2023 Tehran After his arrest, Amir-Ali was detained for over two months in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence. He was then released on bail following a series of intensive interrogations, after which he was diagnosed with a heart condition that was believed to have been caused directly by the stress he was placed under during his detention and the threat of further imprisonment. In March 2024, he was sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari at the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. He began serving his sentence the next month. In January 2025, his application for conditional release was blocked by the Ministry of Intelligence, and in March 2025 he was beaten by a prison officer, after pleading to be sent for an assessment by a cardiologist. His request was denied. Evin Prison-Tehran Serving sentence “Propaganda activities against the regime through establishing a house-church” Around $10,000 3yrs in Prison, Deprivation of Social Rights Hakop Gochumyan 15/08/2023 Pardis Armenian Christian Hakop was visiting Iran with his wife Elisa, who is an Iranian-Armenian, and their two children, when they were arrested in Pardis, just outside Tehran. The couple and their children were having dinner at a friend’s home, when a dozen plainclothes agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided the property. The agents confiscated personal belongings, including some Christian books, and then took the Gochumyan family back to Elisa’s grandmother’s house, where they had been staying for the summer holidays. The agents searched this property as well, before taking Hakop and Elisa away to Evin Prison, leaving their children in the custody of an aunt. Hakop and Elisa were then placed in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, and subjected to intense psychological torture and back-to-back interrogation sessions, each lasting between two to five hours. Neither Hakop nor Elisa were informed of any official charges against them. After over two months in detention, Elisa was released on bail equivalent to $40,000 on 19 October, after which she returned to Armenia to be reunited with her children, who had returned home in September with a relative. Elisa’s bail had initially been set at $100,000, but her family protested that they could not afford the amount, and it was reduced by half. Meanwhile, Hakop remained in prison and in February 2024 was sentenced to 10 years in prison, despite his lawyer arguing that the case against him was so weak that the judge was forced to use a penal code provision enabling him to use his “intuition”. Nine others were also sentenced as part of the same case, but they cannot be identified. Four, including Hakop, received 10-year sentences; one received a two-year sentence; five were banned from leaving Iran and from living in Tehran and its neighbouring provinces for two years; and all 10 were fined a total of 500 million tomans (around $8,000) and deprived of rights such as membership of political or social groups. Many personal belongings were also confiscated, including cash, digital devices and even, unusually, some properties. In June 2025, Hakop was told his appeal had failed. Evin Prison-Tehran Serving sentence “Engaging in deviant proselytising activity that contradicts the sacred law of Islam through membership and leadership of a network of evangelical Christianity” 10yrs in Prison Elisa Shahverdian 15/08/2023 Pardis Armenian Christian Hakop was visiting Iran with his wife Elisa, who is an Iranian-Armenian, and their two children, when they were arrested in Pardis, just outside Tehran. The couple and their children were having dinner at a friend’s home, when a dozen plainclothes agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided the property. The agents confiscated personal belongings, including some Christian books, and then took the Gochumyan family back to Elisa’s grandmother’s house, where they had been staying for the summer holidays. The agents searched this property as well, before taking Hakop and Elisa away to Evin Prison, leaving their children in the custody of an aunt. Hakop and Elisa were then placed in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, and subjected to intense psychological torture and back-to-back interrogation sessions, each lasting between two to five hours. Neither Hakop nor Elisa were informed of any official charges against them. After over two months in detention, Elisa, who is the daughter of a well-known Iranian-Armenian pastor, was released on bail equivalent to $40,000 on 19 October, after which she returned to Armenia to be reunited with her children, who had returned home in September with a relative. Elisa’s bail had initially been set at $100,000, but her family protested that they could not afford the amount, and it was reduced by half. Hakop, meanwhile, remains in prison. Temporarily released on bail “Propaganda against the state through the promotion of Christianity” Around $40,000 Razieh (Maral) Kohzady 09/05/2023 Tehran Maral and two other women converts to Christianity were arrested on the morning of 9 May by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, who claimed to have search warrants and confiscated personal belongings including mobile phones, laptops, books, and pamphlets “without any explanation”, according to Mehr Ministries. The Christians were then reportedly taken to an unknown location and held incommunicado for 40 days, before being able to call their families to let them know they were being held in Evin Prison. The Christians were later reportedly been able to see their families, but continued to be denied access to a lawyer. The other two women were later released on bail, but Maral remained in custody. A court hearing was scheduled for 2 July 2023 at the 28th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, on unknown charges. Evin Prison-Tehran Unknown Unknown Shilan Oraminejad 09/05/2023 Tehran Shilan and two other women converts to Christianity were arrested on the morning of 9 May by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, who claimed to have search warrants and confiscated personal belongings including mobile phones, laptops, books, and pamphlets “without any explanation”, according to Mehr Ministries. The Christians were then reportedly taken to an unknown location and held incommunicado for 40 days, before being able to call their families to let them know they were being held in Evin Prison. The Christians were later reportedly been able to see their families, but continued to be denied access to a lawyer. Shilan and one of the other women were later released on bail, but the third remained in custody. A court hearing was scheduled for 2 July 2023 at the 28th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, on unknown charges. Temporarily released on bail Unknown Unknown Zahra (Yalda) Heidary 09/05/2023 Tehran Yalda and two other women converts to Christianity were arrested on the morning of 9 May by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, who claimed to have search warrants and confiscated personal belongings including mobile phones, laptops, books, and pamphlets “without any explanation”, according to Mehr Ministries. The Christians were then reportedly taken to an unknown location and held incommunicado for 40 days, before being able to call their families to let them know they were being held in Evin Prison. The Christians were later reportedly been able to see their families, but continued to be denied access to a lawyer. Yalda and one of the other women were later released on bail, but the third remained in custody. A court hearing was scheduled for 2 July 2023 at the 28th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, on unknown charges. Temporarily released on bail Unknown Unknown Anahita Khademi 03/01/2023 Bandar Anzali Anahita was summoned to the intelligence offices in Bandar Anzali, following her husband Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad's arrest at a Christmas gathering the week before. Anahita was then arrested and also transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht, where her husband and two other church members, Masoud V and Amir R, were also being held. Anahita was released on bail on 28 January 2023. Temporarily released on bail "Propagating Christianity”, Disturbing public opinion”, and “Propaganda against the state" 180 million tomans ($4,000) Masoud V 26/12/2022 Bandar Anzali Masoud was arrested at a Christmas gathering, alongside another church member, named Amir, and Pastor Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad, who was on leave from prison. They were taken to Lakan Prison in Rasht. Amir was released on bail on 6 January 2023, and Masoud on 28 January 2023. Temporarily released on bail Unknown 180 million tomans ($4,000) Amir R 26/12/2022 Bandar Anzali Amir was arrested at a Christmas gathering, alongside another church member, named Masoud, and Pastor Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad, who was on leave from prison. They were taken to Lakan Prison in Rasht. Amir was released on bail on 6 January 2023. Temporarily released on bail Unknown Bianka Zaia 26/11/2022 Tehran Bianka was arrested by plainclothes officers who raided her home and confiscated items including her Bible and other Christian items. She was then taken to Evin Prison and reportedly held in the infamous Ward 209, reserved for political prisoners, until her release on New Year’s Eve. Bianka is understood to have posted messages on her Instagram account – which has since been closed – in support of the protesters and also of the exiled Crown Prince. Temporarily released on bail "Propaganda against the state through proselytising Christianity" 500 million tomans ($12,500) Toomaj Aryan-Kia 24/10/2022 Karaj Toomaj was first arrested on 24 October 2022, when his home was searched by plainclothes intelligence agents who confiscated personal items including Bibles. He was then held in solitary confinement for the next 28 days, before being transferred to the general ward of Karaj Prison for a further 40 days. Toomaj was then released on bail equivalent to $75,000. On 5 November 2024, he was sentenced by Judge Mostafa Narimani at the 3rd Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj. Sentenced “Propagating Christianity”, “Collaborating with the hostile governments of Israel, the UK and the US," "Membership of “anti-regime groups” $75,000 10yrs in Prison, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group Mohammad Golbaz 30/07/2022 Karaj Mohammad was arrested at his motorcycle repair shop by more than a dozen plainclothes intelligence agents. He was then transferred to an unknown location and held incommunicado until finally being able to make a short telephone call to his parents on 3 August 2022. The arresting agents had initially searched Mohammad’s parents’ home, insisting their son was there, and confiscating a framed picture of Jesus, which was in their possession even though they are not Christians themselves. When the agents had satisfied themselves that Mohammad was not there, they went to his shop, arrested him, and took him to his home to search it, before transporting him to an unknown location. Nothing more is known at this stage about any charges brought against Mohammad, nor the reason he is still being detained. Loved ones who went to inquire about him at the local prosecutor’s office were told only that he is an “apostate” and will be held “for a while”. He was eventually released on bail in September 2022. On 10 January 2023, he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for five years, depending on his future conduct. Sentence suspended "Propaganda against the state" 1.5 billion tomans ($45,000) Less than a year in Prison Gholamreza Keyvanmanesh 26/06/2022 Neyshabur Ghomalreza, who is in his late fifties and has cancer, was one of four Christian converts arrested at a house-church gathering on Sunday 26 June 2022. He was then transferred to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, two hours’ drive from Neyshabur. The other three – two women and another man in their forties and fifties – are being held in Neyshabur Prison. At least another eight Christians were also present at the meeting and though they were not detained by the arresting agents – members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – they were told to soon expect a summons for further questioning. They were also forced to sign commitments to refrain from gathering with other Christians. Bibles and mobile phones were among the items confiscated from the church members. Other members of the church who were not present at the meeting, and family members who tried to follow up their cases with the IRGC, were also reportedly threatened with detention. The detained Christians were eventually released on bail in September 2022. Temporarily released on bail “Acting against national security through propaganda against the regime”, and “Insulting the sacred” 700 million tomans ($21,000) Rahmat Rostamipour 18/04/2022 Bandar Anzali Rahmat, a Christian convert, was arrested at 8am, when a dozen plainclothes agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) raided his home. He was driven away in a convoy of four cars. The agents confiscated Bibles, phones, ID cards, a number of books, and some tablets, before taking Rahmat into custody. They made it clear they also intended to arrest Rahmat’s wife, Azar, but refrained from doing so because the raid had brought on a panic attack in the couple’s teenage daughter. Their 13-year-old teenage son was also present. Azar was summoned to the MOIS Office in Anzali the following day, 19 April 2022, and returned home after hours of interrogation. Rahmat was released on bail on 29 April 2022. On 21 May 2022, Branch 102 of the Civil Court of Bandar Anzali found him guilty of “propaganda” for “messaging others about Christianity”, “teaching the religion of Christianity”, and as a result of “his own clear confession that he has held Christian house-churches”. He was “deprived of social rights” for five years and fined 6 million tomans (around $185), and a further 18 million should he “re-offend” in the next two years. Released “Engaging in educational activities contrary to the holy religion of Islam by establishing house-churches" 50 million tomans ($2,000) Fine, Deprivation of Social Rights Mansour Mardani-Kharaji 22/12/2021 Fooladshahr Mansour and his brother Mahmoud were arrested at a Christmas gathering by plainclothes officials who showed no warrant and did not state which agency they represented. The brothers remained missing for over a month and their family members were mocked and threatened by local officials as they sought information about their loved ones. On 12 November 2024, the brothers were summoned by the 2nd Investigation Branch of the Lenjan City Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, their bail was set and an arrest warrant was issued for them on charges filed under the amended Article 500 of the penal code. The charges against two other converts in the same case were dropped. On 16 January 2025, the brothers were sentenced at Lenjan Revolutionary Court by Judge Mohammad-Ali Abbasi. Their sentences include five years’ deprivation of social rights, fines of 150 million tomans each ($1,800) and two years’ internal exile in Ardal County, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Sentenced "Deviant educational and propaganda activities contrary to the holy law of Islam" One billion tomans ($14,500) 4yrs in Prison, 2yrs in Exile, Fine, Deprivation of Social Rights Mahmoud Mardani-Kharaji 22/12/2021 Fooladshahr Mahmoud and his brother Mansour were arrested at a Christmas gathering by plainclothes officials who showed no warrant and did not state which agency they represented. The brothers remained missing for over a month and their family members were mocked and threatened by local officials as they sought information about their loved ones. On 12 November 2024, the brothers were summoned by the 2nd Investigation Branch of the Lenjan City Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, their bail was set and an arrest warrant was issued for them on charges filed under the amended Article 500 of the penal code. The charges against two other converts in the same case were dropped. On 16 January 2025, the brothers were sentenced at Lenjan Revolutionary Court by Judge Mohammad-Ali Abbasi. Their sentences include five years’ deprivation of social rights, fines of 150 million tomans each ($1,800) and two years’ internal exile in Ardal County, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Sentenced "Deviant educational and propaganda activities contrary to the holy law of Islam" One billion tomans ($14,500) 4yrs in Prison, 2yrs in Exile, Fine, Deprivation of Social Rights Ahmad Sarparast 05/09/2021 Rasht Ahmad was one of three Church of Iran members arrested during raids on a house-church and another private home on Sunday 5 September in Rasht. The three men were then taken away to an unknown location, where they were detained for nearly two weeks. It later transpired that they were being held in a detention centre belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. On 18 September, Ahmad and one of the others, Morteza Mashoodkari, were transferred to Lakan Prison, then released on bail on 21 September. There was no news about the third, Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh, until his release on bail on 3 October. On 25 January 2022, the three men were charged under the controversially amended Article 500 of the penal code. They denied the charges at a hearing on 17 February 2022 at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, saying they were “just Christians worshipping according to the Bible” and "did not engage in any propaganda against the regime or any action against national security". But on 9 April 2022, the same court sentenced them to five years in prison. They were also fined 18 million tomans (around $750). A month later, on 8 May, Ahmad was taken to an IRGC detention centre, alongside Ayoob and two other Church of Iran members, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh. Morteza was detained two days later. Their appeals were rejected in June 2022. On 11 July 2022, they were told they must return to court on 19 July 2022 to face a second trial on identical charges. On 2 November 2022, a Rasht Revolutionary Court cleared them of wrongdoing in this second trial. Then on 9 November 2022, Morteza was informed that he had been granted a "partial pardon" in the first case, and that his sentence had been reduced to two and a half years. However, there was no such pardon for Ahmad and Ayoob. Between May and October 2023, the three men were permitted to serve the remainder of their sentences outside prison, but told they must report back daily to work at an adjacent factory. Lakan Prison-Rasht Serving sentence “Engaging in propaganda and educational activities for deviant beliefs contrary to the holy Sharia," and “Connections with foreign leaders” 400 million tomans (around $15,000) 5yrs in Prison Morteza Mashoodkari 05/09/2021 Rasht Morteza was one of three Church of Iran members arrested during raids on a house-church and another private home on Sunday 5 September in Rasht. The three men were then taken away to an unknown location, where they were detained for nearly two weeks. It later transpired that they were being held in a detention centre belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. On 18 September, Morteza and one of the others, Ahmad Sarparast, were transferred to Lakan Prison, then released on bail on 21 September. There was no news about the third, Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh, until his release on bail on 3 October. On 25 January 2022, the three men were charged under the controversially amended Article 500 of the penal code. They denied the charges at a hearing on 17 February 2022 at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, saying they were “just Christians worshipping according to the Bible” and "did not engage in any propaganda against the regime or any action against national security". But on 9 April 2022, the same court sentenced them to five years in prison. They were also fined 18 million tomans (around $750). A month later, on 8 May, Ahmad and Ayoob were taken to an IRGC detention centre, alongside two other Church of Iran members, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh. Morteza, who had not been present when the agents came to his home, was detained two days later. Their appeals were rejected in June 2022. On 11 July 2022, they were told they must return to court on 19 July 2022 to face a second trial on identical charges. On 2 November 2022, a Rasht Revolutionary Court cleared them of wrongdoing in this second trial. Then on 9 November 2022, Morteza was informed that he had been granted a "partial pardon" in the first case, and that his sentence had been reduced to two and a half years. However, there was no such pardon for Ahmad and Ayoob. Between May and October 2023, the three men were permitted to serve the remainder of their sentences outside prison, but told they must report back daily to work at an adjacent factory. Morteza completed his sentence in December 2024. Released “Engaging in propaganda and educational activities for deviant beliefs contrary to the holy Sharia," and “Connections with foreign leaders” 400 million tomans (around $15,000) 2yrs in Prison Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh 05/09/2021 Rasht Ayoob was one of three Church of Iran members arrested during raids on a house-church and another private home on Sunday 5 September in Rasht. The three men were then taken away to an unknown location. It later transpired that they were being held in a detention centre belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. On 18 September the two other men, Ahmad Sarparast and Morteza Mashoodkari, were transferred to Lakan Prison, then released on bail on 21 September. However, there was no news about Ayoob's situation or whereabouts until his release on bail from Lakan Prison on 3 October. His two friends had not seen him since a day after their arrest, while Ayoob's parents had not heard anything from him or even about him since a short telephone call on 8 September. On 25 January 2022, the three men were charged under the controversially amended Article 500 of the penal code. They denied the charges at a hearing on 17 February 2022 at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, saying they were “just Christians worshipping according to the Bible” and "did not engage in any propaganda against the regime or any action against national security". But on 9 April 2022, the same court sentenced them to five years in prison. They were also fined 18 million tomans (around $750). A month later, on 8 May, Ayoob was taken to an IRGC detention centre, alongside Ahmad and two other Church of Iran members, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh. Morteza was detained two days later. Their appeals were rejected in June 2022. On 11 July 2022, they were told they must return to court on 19 July 2022 to face a second trial on identical charges. On 2 November 2022, a Rasht Revolutionary Court cleared them of wrongdoing in this second trial. Then on 9 November 2022, Morteza was informed that he had been granted a "partial pardon" in the first case, and that his sentence had been reduced to two and a half years. However, there was no such pardon for Ahmad and Ayoob. Between May and October 2023, the three men were permitted to serve the remainder of their sentences outside prison, but told they must report back daily to work at an adjacent factory. Lakan Prison-Rasht Serving sentence “Engaging in propaganda and educational activities for deviant beliefs contrary to the holy Sharia," and “Connections with foreign leaders” 400 million tomans (around $15,000) 5yrs in Prison Fariba Dalir 19/07/2021 Tehran Fariba was one of three converts arrested on 19 July 2021, including her fiancé at the time and now husband, Soroush. Three other Christians, including a 17-year-old and another woman and her daughter, had been arrested the previous day. Fariba was arrested at a hair salon in Tehran and spent over a month in solitary confinement in a detention centre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, before being transferred to Qarchak women’s prison, where she was detained for two months longer, then released on bail. On 4 December 2021, at Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, Fariba was sentenced to two years in prison for her alleged leadership role, and four of the others, including Soroush, were sentenced to 10 months in prison for membership of the church. However, due to time already spent in detention, these four were told they could instead choose to pay fines of 5 million tomans each (around $250) to escape further imprisonment. Fariba was initially sentenced to five years after the court wrongly stated that she had a previous criminal record. Her sentence was later revised once the court was informed of the error. Fariba began serving her sentence on 16 April 2022. She was unexpectedly pardoned and released on 18 October 2022, three days after a fire spread through Evin Prison and gunshots were heard, and just one day after the release of another Christian prisoner of conscience, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh. Released “Acting against national security by establishing and leading an Evangelical Christian church” 600 million tomans ($25,000) 2yrs in Prison Soroush Mohammadi Fallah 19/07/2021 Tehran Soroush was one of three converts arrested on 19 July 2021, including his fiancée at the time and now wife, Fariba. Three other Christians, including a 17-year-old and another woman and her daughter, had been arrested the previous day. Soroush was arrested while driving his car and spent over a month in solitary confinement in a detention centre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, before being transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, where he was detained for two months longer, then released on bail. On 4 December 2021, at Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, Fariba was sentenced to two years in prison for her alleged leadership role, and four of the others, including Soroush, were sentenced to 10 months in prison for membership of the church. However, due to time already spent in detention, these four were told they could instead choose to pay fines of 5 million tomans each (around $250) to escape further imprisonment. Released “Acting against national security through membership of an Evangelical Christian church" 300 million tomans ($12,500) Less than a year in Prison Mohammad Kayidgap 20/04/2021 Dezful Mohammad was one of four Christian converts from Dezful charged in August 2021 with “propaganda against the Islamic Republic”. The charge was read out to Mohammad, and also to Esmaeil Narimanpour, Alireza Varak-Shah and Mohammad Ali (Davoud) Torabi, at the 4th branch of the prosecutor’s office of the Civil and Revolutionary Court of Dezful on 3 August. Four other Christians are also part of the same case - Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf, Alireza Roshanaei Zadeh, and Mohsen Saadati Zadeh – but have not yet been officially charged. Mohammad and the three others charged later complained that the Ministry of Intelligence had refused to return confiscated items to them. These were eventually returned after more than six months. Then on 30 November 2021 the charges against all eight men were dropped, the prosecutor ruling that their decision to change religion was "not criminalised in the laws of Iran". However, two months later, on 28 January 2022, the eight men and two other converts were summoned by Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents and told they would be forced to attend 10 "re-education" sessions with Islamic clerics in an effort to correct their "misled" beliefs. Attending re-education sessions "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic” 30 million tomans (around $1,300) Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf 19/04/2021 Dezful Hojjat was one of four Christian converts arrested on 21 April 2021 and detained for two days, then released on the condition they partake in no further Christian activities. All the converts were told to expect another summons at any moment. On 20 July, the four men and four others were ordered to appear at the 4th branch of the prosecutor’s office of the Civil and Revolutionary Court of Dezful within five days to answer charges of propaganda against the Islamic Republic". On 30 November 2021 the charges against all eight men were dropped, the prosecutor ruling that their decision to change religion was "not criminalised in the laws of Iran". However, two months later, on 28 January 2022, the eight men and two other converts were summoned by Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents and told they would be forced to attend 10 "re-education" sessions with Islamic clerics in an effort to correct their "misled" beliefs. Attending re-education sessions "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic” Esmaeil Narimanpour 19/04/2021 Dezful Esmaeil was one of four Christian converts arrested on 21 April 2021 and detained for two days, then released on the condition they partake in no further Christian activities. All the converts were told to expect another summons at any moment. On 20 July, the four men and four others were ordered to appear at the 4th branch of the prosecutor’s office of the Civil and Revolutionary Court of Dezful within five days to answer charges of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic". Esmaeil and three others later complained that the Ministry of Intelligence had refused to return confiscated items to them. These were eventually returned after more than six months. Then on 30 November 2021 the charges against all eight men were dropped, the prosecutor ruling that their decision to change religion was "not criminalised in the laws of Iran". However, two months later, on 28 January 2022, the eight men and two other converts were summoned by Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents and told they would be forced to attend 10 "re-education" sessions with Islamic clerics in an effort to correct their "misled" beliefs. On 24 December 2023, Esmaeil was re-arrested during a 6pm raid on his home, during which the property was searched and his Christian books confiscated, though the arresting agents did not have a warrant. Esmaeil was able to call his family briefly the following day to tell them that he was being held in Ahvaz, 150km south of Dezful. However, when his wife and brother went to follow up on his case, they were themselves questioned and detained for several hours. Esmaeil was finally released on $10,000 bail on 30 April 2024, but a month later, on 28 May 2024, Esmaeil was sentenced to five years in prison for “acting against national security by communicating with Christian ‘Zionist’ organisations”. Temporarily released on bail "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic”, "Acting gainst national security by communicating with Christian ‘Zionist’ organisations” $10,000 5yrs in Prison Alireza Varak-Shah 19/04/2021 Dezful Alireza was one of four Christian converts arrested on 21 April 2021 and detained for two days, then released on the condition they partake in no further Christian activities. All the converts were told to expect another summons at any moment. On 20 July, the four men and four others were ordered to appear at the 4th branch of the prosecutor’s office of the Civil and Revolutionary Court of Dezful within five days to answer charges of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic". Alireza and three others later complained that the Ministry of Intelligence had refused to return confiscated items to them. These were eventually returned after more than six months. Then on 30 November 2021 the charges against all eight men were dropped, the prosecutor ruling that their decision to change religion was "not criminalised in the laws of Iran". However, two months later, on 28 January 2022, the eight men and two other converts were summoned by Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents and told they would be forced to attend 10 "re-education" sessions with Islamic clerics in an effort to correct their "misled" beliefs. Attending re-education sessions "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic" 30 million tomans (around $1,300) Reza Zaeemi 27/11/2020 Karaj Reza was arrested by plainclothes agents on the street outside his home. He was blindfolded and handcuffed, then taken to an unknown location, where he was interrogated for four hours, before being transferred to a detention centre belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. After two days, Reza was taken to the prosecutor’s office, where the charge against him was read out. He was then taken back to the Revolutionary Guard detention centre for a further eight days, before being transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison. A week later, he was released on bail. Reza was not allowed to call his family for the first eight days of his 17 days'detention. Reza was sentenced on 25 January 2021 at the 4th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj to 18 months in prison and a two-year travel ban. On 25 April 2021, an appeals court reduced Reza’s prison sentence to nine months. He began serving his sentence on 2 June. On 8 August, he was released from prison but made to wear an electronic tag for the remainder of his sentence. Released "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic by promoting evangelical Christianity” 60 million tomans (around $2,750) Less than a year in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban Anooshavan Avedian 21/08/2020 Tehran Anooshavan was among several Christians detained on Friday 21 August 2020, when approximately 30 MOIS agents raided a private gathering at his home in Narmak, north-eastern Tehran, where around 18 Christians, including family members, were praying and worshipping. The agents confiscated all Bibles and communication devices, and demanded everyone filled out forms providing their personal information, including passwords to their phones and social-media accounts. Several of the Christians were then transferred to Tehran’s Evin Prison, including Anooshavan and Christian converts Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi. The three were eventually released on 23 September 2020 after depositing property deeds to cover his bail. They were sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari under the amended Article 500 of the penal code on 11 April 2022 at the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Their appeals were rejected on 29 May 2022. On 2 August 2022, Anooshavan was informed his appeal for a retrial had been rejected by the Supreme Court. On 13 September 2023, the same day that fellow Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian was surprisingly released, Anooshavan was visited at his home by plainclothes Ministry of Intelligence officers, who told him he must introduce himself at Evin Prison to begin his sentence. So on 18 September 2023, Anooshavan submitted himself to the authorities at Evin to begin his sentence. On 24 September 2024, Anooshavan was released from prison after being acquitted during a hearing that same day at Branch 21 of the Appeal Court of Tehran. This came after the Supreme Court accepted his latest petition for a retrial, lodged in April 2024, having previously denied all other petitions. Acquitted "Establishing and leading an illegal group with the aim of disrupting the security of the country through educational and propaganda activities contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam, through the dissemination of false claims" 1 billion tomans ($50,000) 10yrs in Prison, Deprivation of Social Rights Maryam Mohammadi 21/08/2020 Tehran Maryam was among several Christians detained on Friday 21 August 2020, when approximately 30 MOIS agents raided a private gathering at the home of Iranian-Armenian Christian Anooshavan Avedian in Narmak, north-eastern Tehran, where around 18 Christians were praying and worshipping. The agents confiscated all Bibles and communication devices, and demanded everyone filled out forms providing their personal information, including passwords to their phones and social-media accounts. Several of the Christians were then transferred to Tehran’s Evin Prison, including Maryam, who was released two days later, but summoned again the following week and detained for a further 26 days in solitary confinement. She was also subjected to psychological torture during several intense interrogation sessions. Maryam was eventually released on 23 September after depositing property deeds for bail. Maryam, Anooshavan and another Christian convert, Abbas Soori, were sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari under the amended Article 500 of the penal code on 11 April 2022 at the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Their appeals were rejected on 29 May 2022. However, Maryam and Abbas’s 10-year deprivation of social rights was removed and their fines for being in possession of satellite receivers reduced from 50m tomans ($2,000) to 6m tomans ($190) each. On 16 July 2022, Maryam was informed that her appeal for a retrial had been rejected by the Supreme Court. Awaiting summons “Membership of an illegal group with the aim of disrupting the security of the country through educational and propaganda activities contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam, through the dissemination of false claims" 500 million tomans ($25,000) Deprivation of Social Rights, Fine, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group, 2yrs Travel Ban, 2yrs in Exile Abbas Soori 21/08/2020 Tehran Abbas was among several Christians detained on Friday 21 August 2020, when approximately 30 MOIS agents raided a private gathering at the home of Iranian-Armenian Christian Anooshavan Avedian in Narmak, north-eastern Tehran, where around 18 Christians were praying and worshipping. The agents confiscated all Bibles and communication devices, and demanded everyone filled out forms providing their personal information, including passwords to their phones and social-media accounts. Several of the Christians were then transferred to Tehran’s Evin Prison, including Abbas, who was released two days later, but summoned again the following week and detained for a further 26 days in solitary confinement. He was also subjected to psychological torture during several intense interrogation sessions. Abbas was eventually released on 23 September after depositing property deeds for bail. Abbas, Anooshavan and another Christian convert, Maryam Mohammadi, were sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari under the amended Article 500 of the penal code on 11 April 2022 at the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Their appeals were rejected on 29 May 2022. However, Abbas and Maryam’s 10-year deprivation of social rights was removed and their fines for being in possession of satellite receivers reduced from 50m tomans ($2,000) to 6m tomans ($190) each. On 2 August 2022, Abbas was informed his appeal for a retrial had been rejected by the Supreme Court. On 3 November 2024, Abbas was re-arrested during a raid on his home in Tehran, which coincided with raids on other Christian homes in cities across Iran. Abbas and two other Christians in Tehran, Narges Nasri and Mehran Shamloui, were taken to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and released a month later on bail equivalent to more than $20,000, following a series of lengthy and intensive interrogations. Their court hearing took place on 15 February 2025 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, where they were officially charged under Articles 499, 500 and 500 of the penal code. On 8 March 2025, the three Christians were sentenced to a combined 41 years in prison, fined, and deprived of social rights. Abbas and Narges were also banned from membership of any group, residing in their home province of Tehran or leaving Iran for two years after their release. Sentenced “Membership of an illegal group with the aim of disrupting the security of the country through educational and propaganda activities contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam, through the dissemination of false claims", “Propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law through foreign relations” 500 million tomans ($25,000) 10yrs in Prison, Deprivation of Social Rights, Fine, 2yrs Travel Ban, 2yrs in Exile, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group Masoumeh Ghasemi 01/07/2020 Tehran Masoumeh was arrested on 1 July 2020 after going to the Shahid Moghaddasi courthouse in Evin Prison to enquire about her daughter Sonya's arrest the previous evening during a raid on a house-church in Yaftabad, western Tehran. Sonya was one of five Christian converts arrested that night, alongside Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian, as part a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. Masoumeh and her daughter were released on bail on Thursday, 9 July. On 7 June 2022, Masoumeh was sentenced to one year in prison, but permitted to pay a fine of 24 million ($950) tomans instead of going to prison. Her appeal against the sentence was rejected on 17 August 2022. On 29 August 2022, she was summoned to pay her fine within 24 hours. Released "Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity" 300 million tomans (around $15,000) 1yr in Prison Farhad Mohebbi 30/06/2020 Karaj Farhad was arrested during a raid on his home in Karaj on the evening of 30 June 2020, part of a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. He was sentenced in November 2020 to 10 months in prison for "propaganda against the state through the promotion of Christianity". He began serving his sentence on 11 February 2021 at Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj. On 19 March 2021, he was released from prison but ordered to wear an ankle bracelet for the rest of his sentence. Released "Propaganda against the state through the promotion of Christianity" Less than a year in Prison Joseph Shahbazian 30/06/2020 Tehran Joseph was arrested alongside five Christian converts after a raid on a house-church in Yaftabad, western Tehran, on the evening of 30 June 2020, one of a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. After three weeks' detention, Joseph's bail was set at the exorbitant figure of 3 billion tomans - the highest ever bail demand for a Christian prisoner of conscience. Finally, on Saturday 22 August 2020, after 54 days' detention, Joseph was released on a reduced bail of 2 billion tomans. Joseph and four others were summoned to give their final defence at the Evin prosecutor's office in October 2021, where they were told their cases would be passed on to the 19th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. On 7 June 2022, Joseph was sentenced to 10 years in prison and two women converts to six years each. Joseph was also sentenced to a two-year term in exile in a remote province in the southeast of Iran following his incarceration, and a two-year ban on travelling abroad or membership of any social or political group. Joseph must also report to the offices of Iran’s intelligence service for two years after his release on an unspecified “seasonal basis”. His appeal against the sentence was rejected on 17 August 2022. on 29 August 2022, he was summoned to begin his sentence within 24 hours. He handed himself in the following day at around midday. On 25 February 2023, the 9th Branch of the Supreme Court ordered a retrial of Joseph's case, which took place on 24 May 2023 at the 21st Branch of Tehran's appeal court. Joseph's sentence was reduced to two years, and his term in exile was also quashed. However, the other aspects of his sentence remain. On 13 September 2023, Joseph was surprisingly summoned to the Evin Prison office and told he had been pardoned. He was given one hour to collect his things, then released. It is unclear whether his release related to Joseph's ill health, and denial of medical treatment to him during his incarceration. On 6 February 2025, Joseph was re-arrested by intelligence agents at his home in Tehran and taken back to Evin Prison. A number of other Christians, including fellow former prisoner of conscience Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, were arrested on the same day, though the reason for the arrests remained unclear. A month later he remained detained, without access to a lawyer or any formal charges. Evin Prison-Tehran Detained "Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity" 2 billion tomans (approx $100,000), reduced from 3 billion. 2yrs Travel Ban, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group, 2yrs in Prison Salar Eshraghi Moghadam 30/06/2020 Tehran Salar was arrested alongside four fellow Christian converts and Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian after a raid on a house-church in Yaftabad, western Tehran, on the evening of 30 June 2020, as part of a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. Salar and four others were summoned to give their final defence at the Evin prosecutor's office in October 2021, where they were told their cases would be passed on to the 19th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. On 7 June 2022, Salar was sentenced to four years in prison, but permitted to pay a fine instead of going to prison. Released "Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity” 800 million tomans (around $40,000) 4yrs in Prison Farhad Khazaee 30/06/2020 Karaj Farhad was arrested during a raid on his home in Karaj on the evening of 30 June 2020, part of a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. Farhad and four others were summoned to give their final defence at the Evin prosecutor's office in October 2021, where they were told their cases would be passed on to the 19th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. On 7 June 2022, Farhad was sentenced to one year in prison, but permitted to pay a fine instead of going to prison. Released “Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity” 800 million tomans (around $40,000) 1yr in Prison Somayeh (Sonya) Sadegh 30/06/2020 Tehran Sonya was arrested alongside four fellow Christian converts and Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian after a raid on a house-church in Yaftabad, western Tehran, on the evening of 30 June 2020, as part of a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. The following day, her mother Masoumeh was arrested after turning up at Evin Prison to enquire about her daughter. They were both released on bail on Thursday, 9 July. Sonya and four others were summoned to give their final defence at the Evin prosecutor's office in October 2021, where they were told their cases would be passed on to the 19th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. On 7 June 2022, Sonya was sentenced to four years in prison, but permitted to pay a fine of 40 million ($1,275) tomans instead of going to prison. Her appeal against the sentence was rejected on 17 August 2022. On 29 August 2022, she was summoned to pay her fine within 24 hours. Released "Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity” 500 million tomans (approx. $25,000) 4yrs in Prison Malihe Nazari 30/06/2020 Tehran Malihe was arrested at her home in the Sadeghiyeh district of Tehran, as part of a series of arrests of Christians on 30 June and 1 July 2020 in Tehran, Karaj and Malayer. During the raid, Malihe’s house was searched and several of her personal belongings were confiscated, including her computer, mobile phone and a number of books. The agents then took Malihe away, and told her family she would be taken to Evin Prison. When they went to visit her at the prison the next day, they found Malihe’s name on the list of detainees but weren’t able to see her, although the following day she was able to briefly call home to say that she was OK. She was later moved to Qarchak Women's Prison, south of Tehran and her bail was set at 3 billion tomans - an unprecedented amount for a Christian prisoner of conscience. Finally, on 5 September she was released on a reduced bail believed to be around 1 billion tomans. On 7 June 2022, Malihe was sentenced to six years in prison. Her appeal against the sentence was rejected on 17 August 2022 and she began serving her sentence later that month. On 24 April 2023, Malihe was released from prison following a Supreme Court ruling, reportedly because of her son's ill health. Evin Prison-Tehran Released "Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity” 1 billion tomans (around $50,000) 6yrs in Prison Mina Khajavi 30/06/2020 Tehran Mina was arrested alongside her sister Maryam and three other fellow Christian converts and Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian after a raid on a house-church in Yaftabad, western Tehran, on the evening of 30 June 2020, as part of a series of raids on Christian homes and house-churches in three cities. Mina was released on bail on 20 July after 20 days in detention, during which she was blindfolded the whole time so that she didn’t know where she was being held. When she was finally released, Mina was put in a car and dropped off on an unknown Tehran street, without either phone or money, so that she had to borrow a phone from a passerby to contact her family and ask them to find her and bring her home. Mina and four others were summoned to give their final defence at the Evin prosecutor's office in October 2021, where they were told their cases would be passed on to the 19th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. On 7 June 2022, Mina was sentenced to six years in prison. Her appeal against the sentence was rejected on 17 August 2022. On 29 August 2022, she was summoned to begin her sentence within 24 hours, but after doing so the following day, Mina was permitted to return home for up to six weeks until she had recovered from a broken leg. On 3 January 2024, she was told she must submit herself to Evin Prison within five days. She began serving her sentence on 8 January 2024. In April 2024, it was reported that she was struggling with pain and unable to access the medical care she required. Mina had reportedly only been given painkillers occasionally, and no other treatment. She was said to find it particularly difficult climbing up to the second level of a bunk-bed in her cell to sleep at night. Evin Prison-Tehran Serving sentence "Acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity” 800 million tomans (around $40,000) 6yrs in Prison Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi 01/02/2020 Rasht Moslem was arrested in February 2020 alongside his aunt Sakine (Mehri) Behjati and fellow converts Ramin Hassanpour and his wife Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour. They were sent to Lakan Prison in Rasht on 14 May 2020, having been unable to afford the bail set for them. They were released on bail on 20-21 May, having had the sum reduced by more than half to around $11,500 each. On 1 August they were sentenced to between two and five years in prison. Their appeals were rejected in September 2020. Moslem began serving his sentence on 9 January 2022 so that the property deed submitted by a friend to secure his bail could be released. On 16 February 2022, Moslem was informed his application for a retrial had been rejected by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court. A year later, on 15 February 2023, Moslem was released as part of a wider amnesty of prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. Released "Acting against national security by attending house-churches and spreading Zionist Christianity Approx. $11,500 4yrs in Prison Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour 01/02/2020 Rasht Kathrin was arrested in February 2020 alongside her husband Ramin Hassanpour and fellow converts Sakine (Mehri) Behjati and Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi. They were sent to Lakan Prison in Rasht on 14 May 2020, having been unable to afford the bail set for them. They were released on bail on 20-21 May, having had the sum reduced by more than half to around $11,500 each. On 1 August they were sentenced to between two and five years in prison. Their appeals were rejected in September 2020. Moslem began serving his prison sentence in January 2022, and in February 2022 the other three were summoned to turn themselves in by the end of the month. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence "Acting against national security by attending house-churches and spreading Zionist Christianity" Approx. $11,500 2yrs in Prison Ramin Hassanpour 01/02/2020 Rasht Ramin was arrested in February 2020 alongside his wife Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour and fellow converts Sakine (Mehri) Behjati and Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi. They were sent to Lakan Prison in Rasht on 14 May 2020, having been unable to afford the bail set for them. They were released on bail on 20-21 May, having had the sum reduced by more than half to around $11,500 each. On 1 August they were sentenced to between two and five years in prison. Their appeals were rejected in September 2020. Moslem began serving his prison sentence in January 2022, and in February 2022 the other three were summoned to turn themselves in by the end of the month. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence "Acting against national security by attending house-churches and spreading Zionist Christianity" Approx. $11,500 5yrs in Prison Sakine (Mehri) Behjati 01/02/2020 Rasht Mehri was arrested in February 2020 alongside fellow converts Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi and Ramin Hassanpour and his wife Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour. They were sent to Lakan Prison in Rasht on 14 May 2020, having been unable to afford the bail set for them. They were released on bail on 20-21 May, having had the sum reduced by more than half to around $11,500 each. On 1 August they were sentenced to between two and five years in prison. Their appeals were rejected in September 2020. Moslem began serving his prison sentence in January 2022, and in February 2022 the other three were summoned to turn themselves in by the end of the month. On 16 February 2022, Mehri was informed that her application for a retrial had been rejected by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court. On 16 April 2022, Mehri handed herself in to the authorities in Tehran to begin her sentence, and was later permitted a transfer to Lakan Prison in Rasht, so she could be closer to her three children. However, in July 2022 she was denied the opportunity to take part in a prison scheme that would have allowed he access to a scheme that would have allowed her to spend most of her time outside prison either working or with her children. She was "pardoned" and released in March 2023. Lakan Prison-Rasht Released "Acting against national security by attending house-churches and spreading Zionist Christianity" 200 million tomans (approx $11,500) 2yrs in Prison Sasan Khosravi 01/07/2019 Bushehr Sasan, his wife Marjan, brother Sam and mother Khatoon were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Sasan and his brother Sam were sentenced to one year in prison, followed by a two-year exile from Bushehr, which includes a ban on working in their specialist profession – the hospitality sector. On 27 January 2021, Sasan, Sam and Habib's appeals were rejected. The others did not appeal. Sasan began serving his sentence on 9 February 2021. A month later, Sasan was released on furlough for 10 days, which was then extended. However, Sasan was later told he must return to prison to complete his sentence, and did so on 11 November. Sasan was released from prison on 20 January 2022, but then had to spend two years in exile. His exile was completed on 20 February 2024. Released “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 1yr in Prison, 2yrs in Exile Pooriya Peyma 01/07/2019 Bushehr Pooriya and his wife Fatemeh were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Pooriya was sentenced to 91 days in prison. He did not appeal and began serving his sentence on 9 February 2021. He was released after serving 52 days of his sentence. Released “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 Less than a year in Prison Sam Khosravi 01/07/2019 Bushehr Sam, his wife Maryam, brother Sasan and mother Khatoon were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Sam and his brother Sasan were sentenced to one year in prison, followed by a two-year exile from Bushehr, which includes a ban on working in their specialist profession – the hospitality sector. In September 2020 Sam and his wife Maryam's adopted daughter Lydia was ordered to be removed from their care because they are Christians and she is considered Muslim. They have taken their appeal to Iran's Supreme Court. On 27 January 2021, Sam, Sasan and Habib's appeals were rejected. The others did not appeal. Temporarily released on bail , Awaiting summons “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 1yr in Prison, 2yrs in Exile Maryam Falahi 01/07/2019 Bushehr Maryam and her husband Sam were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Maryam was fined 8 million tomans (around $400) – equivalent to four months’ salary for the average Iranian – and banned for life from working for any national institution, such as the hospital she'd worked at for 20 years. She did not appeal. In September 2020 Maryam and her husband Sam's adopted daughter Lydia was ordered to be removed from their care because they are Christians and she is considered Muslim. They have taken their appeal to Iran's Supreme Court. Released “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 8 million toman fine, Work restrictions Marjan Falahi 01/07/2019 Bushehr Marjan and her husband Sasan were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Marjan was fined 6 million tomans (around $300) – equivalent to three months’ salary for the average Iranian. She did not appeal. Released “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 6 million toman fine Khatoon Fatolahzadeh 01/07/2019 Bushehr Khatoon, her sons Sam and Sasan, and daughters-in-law Maryam and Marjan, were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. Khatoon was released on the day of her arrest, due to her age. Her arrest came after six cars carrying security officials turned up outside her home. No official charges were brought against her. Released Fatemeh Talebi 01/07/2019 Bushehr Fatemeh and her husband Pooriya were among eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Fatemeh was fined 4 million tomans (around $200) – equivalent to two months’ salary for the average Iranian. She did not appeal. Temporarily released on bail , Pending appeal “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 4 million toman fine Habib Heydari 01/07/2019 Bushehr Habib was one of eight converts arrested at around 9am, as officers introducing themselves as agents from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) stormed the Christians’ homes in a coordinated operation, confiscating Bibles, Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures carrying Christian symbols, along with laptops, phones, all forms of identity cards, bank cards and other personal belongings. The officers treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests. The Christians were held in solitary confinement in the MOIS office in Bushehr and denied access to lawyers. They were also coerced to confess to their “crimes” on camera. On 21 June 2020, seven of the Christians received a range of sentences from prison and exile to fines and work restrictions. Habib was sentenced to a year in prison. On 27 January 2021, Habib, Sam and Sasan's appeals were rejected. The others did not appeal. Habib began serving his sentence on 9 February 2021. A month later, Habib was released on furlough for 10 days, which was then extended. However, Habib was later told he must return to prison to complete his sentence, and did so on 11 November. Habib was released from prison on 20 January 2022. Released “Actions against national security”, “Gathering and collusion against the state”, and “Membership of an illegal organisation” Approx. $30,000 1yr in Prison Homayoun Zhaveh 14/06/2019 Amol Homayoun, who suffers from advanced Parkinson's disease, and his wife Sara Ahmadi were arrested by agents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence as they holidayed in Amol with some other Christian families. All the Christians were questioned, but only Homayoun and Sara were detained - Homayoun for 30 days and Sara for 67, first in Amol and then Evin Prison, Tehran. Sara was held in solitary confinement for 33 of those days, mostly in the Ministry of Intelligence's Ward 209, where she was subjected to extreme psychological torture. Following a court hearing at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 11 November 2020, Sara was sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari on 14 November to 11 years in prison - three years for membership of a house-church, and eight years for managing the house-church - and Homayoun to two years in prison for membership of the church. Their appeal was heard on 8 December 2020 at Branch 36 of the appeal court in Tehran, under Judge Ahmad Zargar. On 30 December he delivered his verdict: Sara's three-year sentence was reduced, but all the other punishments were upheld, including two-year travel bans following their release from prison, a two-year ban on membership of any social or political group, and six months' community service at a centre for the mentally disabled. On 14 March 2021, they were informed their case had been forwarded on to the government body responsible for enforcing judgments, then on 19 March they were told they must submit themselves to the authorities at Evin Prison by 15 June. However, when they did so, they were surprisingly told they could return home. But on 13 August 2022, having gone to an office of Evin Prison, expecting to receive back their confiscated property, they were instead surprisingly detained and are now serving their sentences. Two requests for a retrial with the Supreme Court were rejected, but on 9 April 2023 Sara and Homayoun were informed that Branch 9 of the Supreme Court had agreed that their case should be reviewed. On 9 May 2023, the 34th branch of the Tehran appeal court acquitted Homayoun and Sara of all charges, and ordered their release. Released "Membership of an illegal organisation" (house-church) 200 million tomans (approx. $9,000) 2yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group, 6 Months' Community Service Sara Ahmadi 14/06/2019 Amol Sara and her husband Homayoun Zhaveh, who suffers from advanced Parkinson's disease, were arrested by agents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence as they holidayed in Amol with some other Christian families. All the Christians were questioned, but only Homayoun and Sara were detained - Homayoun for 30 days and Sara for 67, first in Amol and then Evin Prison, Tehran. Sara was held in solitary confinement for 33 of those days, mostly in the Ministry of Intelligence's Ward 209, where she was subjected to extreme psychological torture. Following a court hearing at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 11 November 2020, Sara was sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari on 14 November to 11 years in prison - three years for membership of a house-church, and eight years for managing the house-church - and Homayoun to two years in prison for membership of the church. Their appeal was heard on 8 December 2020 at Branch 36 of the appeal court in Tehran, under Judge Ahmad Zargar. On 30 December he delivered his verdict: Sara's three-year sentence was removed, but all the other punishments were upheld, including two-year travel bans following their release from prison, a two-year ban on membership of any social or political group, and six months' community service at a centre for the mentally disabled. On 14 March 2021, they were informed their case had been forwarded on to the government body responsible for enforcing judgments, then on 19 March they were told they must submit themselves to the authorities at Evin Prison by 15 June. However, when they did so, they were surprisingly told they could return home. But on 13 August 2022, having gone to an office of Evin Prison, expecting to receive back their confiscated property, they were instead surprisingly detained and are now serving their sentences. Two requests for a retrial with the Supreme Court were rejected, but on 9 April 2023 Sara and Homayoun were informed that Branch 9 of the Supreme Court had agreed that their case should be reviewed. On 9 May 2023, the 34th branch of the Tehran appeal court acquitted Sara and Homayoun of all charges, and ordered their release. Released "Organisation of an illegal group" (house-church) 300 million tomans (approx. $14,500) 8yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban, 2yrs Ban on Membership of any Group, 6 Months' Community Service Hamed Ashoori 23/02/2019 Fardis Hamed was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents as he left his home on the morning of 23 February 2019. They raided his home and confiscated all Christian items, including Bibles and other literature, as well as computer hard drives. He was then taken to Rajaei Shahr Prison, where he was held in solitary confinement for 10 days, before being transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison for another two days. During interrogations, Hamed was offered a large monthly salary if he “cooperated” by becoming an informant against other Christians. When he refused, he was beaten. Hamed was released on bail after submitting guarantees in the form of payslips. He and another family member were then forced to attend “re-education” sessions with an Islamic cleric. After four sessions, Hamed refused to participate in any more, and it was then that the court proceedings against him began. On 11 April 2021, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic", a sentence communicated to him verbally the following day. His final court hearing took place on 7 March 2021 at the 4th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj. On 26 June, his appeal was rejected and he was told to submit himself to begin his sentence within 10 days. He was later given extra time, and began serving his sentence on 27 July. He was given leave from prison a month later, and had hoped he may be permitted to spend the rest of his sentence at home, with an electronic tag. However, he was later told he must return to prison on 11 September and spend at least two months more in prison before his release with a tag may be considered. On 24 November, Hamed was released on leave and told he could serve the remainder of his sentence at home. Released "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic" Less than a year in Prison Babak Hosseinzadeh 23/02/2019 Rasht Babak was arrested at a “house church” gathering. His fellow "Church of Iran" members Mehdi Khatibi and Behnam Akhlaghi were arrested on the same day in different locations. Six more members of the group had been arrested in the previous few weeks. Babak was initially released on bail in March but in July his bail and that of four others was increased tenfold after they insisted upon being defended by their own lawyer. Being unable and unprepared to pay such an amount, they were transferred to Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Babak remained detained alongside Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Shahrooz Eslamdoust, Mehdi Khatibi and Behnam Akhlaghi, while the other four were conditionally released pending their appeal, which was rejected on 25 February 2020. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Babak was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. However, two weeks earlier, on 14 February, Babak and Behnam were given new charges by a Tehran prosecutor of "propaganda against the state". On 8 May, Babak and Behnam were detained again by IRGC agents, alongside three other Church of Iran members, Ahmad Sarparast, Morteza Mashoodkari and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh. Babak and Behnam were released the following day, but the other three are still in detention. Acquitted, Temporarily released on bail “Acting against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity”, "Propaganda against the state" $130,000 5yrs in Prison Mehdi Khatibi 23/02/2019 Rasht Mehdi was arrested at a “house church” gathering. His fellow "Church of Iran" members Babak Hosseinzadeh and Behnam Akhlaghi were arrested on the same day in different locations. Six more members of the group had been arrested in the previous few weeks. Mehdi was initially released on bail in March but in July his bail and that of four others was increased tenfold after they insisted upon being defended by their own lawyer. Being unable and unprepared to pay such an amount, they were transferred to Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Mehdi remained detained alongside Babak Hosseinzadeh, Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Shahrooz Eslamdoust and Behnam Akhlaghi, while the other four were conditionally released pending their appeal, which was rejected on 25 February 2020. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Mehdi was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. Acquitted “Acting against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity” $130,000 5yrs in Prison Behnam Akhlaghi 23/02/2019 Rasht Behnam Akhlaghi was was summoned to the offices of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (Sepah) on the same day that two of his fellow "Church of Iran" members were arrested - Babak Hosseinzadeh and Behnam Akhlaghi and Mehdi Khatibi - in different locations. Six more members of the group had been arrested in the previous few weeks. Behnam was initially released on bail on 17 March, but in July his bail and that of four others was increased tenfold after they insisted upon being defended by their own lawyer. Being unable and unprepared to pay such an amount, they were transferred to Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Behnam remained detained alongside Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Shahrooz Eslamdoust, Mehdi Khatibi and Babak Hosseinzadeh, while the other four were conditionally released pending their appeal, which was rejected on 25 February 2020. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Behnam was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. However, two weeks earlier, on 14 February, Behnam and Babak were given new charges by a Tehran prosecutor of "propaganda against the state". On 8 May, Behnam and Babak were detained again by IRGC agents, alongside three other Church of Iran members, Ahmad Sarparast, Morteza Mashoodkari and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh. Behnam and Babak were released the following day, but the other three are still in detention. Acquitted, Temporarily released on bail "Acting against national security”, Promoting Zionist Christianity”, "Propaganda against the state" $130,000 5yrs in Prison Kamal Naamanian 15/02/2019 Rasht Kamal was arrested on 15 February at a “house-church” gathering, alongside fellow converts Mohammad Vafadar and Shahrooz Eslamdoust. Their arrests followed those of fellow "Church of Iran" members Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Hossein Kadivar and Khalil Dehghanpour. Kamal was released on bail on 18 March and told to expect a court summons. At a hearing in July, five of his co-defendants had their bail increased tenfold after insisting on choosing their own lawyer, but Kamal and three others decided to defend themselves and were therefore released on their pre-existing bail. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Kamal was released on bail, pending appeal, alongside Khalil Dehghanpour, Hossein Kadivar, and Mohammad Vafadar, while the other five remained detained. Their appeals were rejected on 25 February 2020. Kamal, Mohammad, Khalil and Hossein began serving their sentences on 1 June 2020, when they were detained a day before their summons deadline, having gone to ask for a few more days with their families. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Kamal was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. Acquitted “Acting against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity” Approx. $13,000 5yrs in Prison Mohammad Vafadar 15/02/2019 Rasht Mohammad was arrested on 15 February at a “house-church” gathering, alongside fellow converts Kamal Naamanian and Shahrooz Eslamdoust. Their arrests followed those of fellow "Church of Iran" members Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Hossein Kadivar and Khalil Dehghanpour. Mohammad was released on bail on 18 March and told to expect a court summons. At a hearing in July, five of his co-defendants had their bail increased tenfold after insisting on choosing their own lawyer, but Mohammad and three others decided to defend themselves and were therefore released on their pre-existing bail. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Mohammad was released on bail, pending appeal, alongside Khalil Dehghanpour, Hossein Kadivar and Kamal Naamanian, while the other five remained detained. Their appeals were rejected on 25 February 2020. Mohammad, Khalil, Hossein and Kamal began serving their sentences on 1 June 2020, when they were detained a day before their summons deadline, having gone to ask for a few more days with their families. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Mohammad was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. Acquitted “Acting against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity” Approx. $13,000 5yrs in Prison Shahrooz Eslamdoust 15/02/2019 Rasht Shahrooz was arrested on 15 February at a “house-church” gathering, alongside fellow converts Kamal Naamanian and Mohammad Vafadar. Their arrests followed those of fellow "Church of Iran" members Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Hossein Kadivar and Khalil Dehghanpour. Four of the six men were released on bail in March, but Shahrooz and Abdolreza were detained. In July, the bail of Shahrooz and four others was increased tenfold after they insisted upon being defended by their own lawyer. Being unable and unprepared to pay such an amount, they were transferred to Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Shahrooz remained detained alongside Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Mehdi Khatibi, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh, while the other four were conditionally released pending their appeal, which was rejected on 25 February 2020. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Shahrooz was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. Acquitted “Acting against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity” $130,000 5yrs in Prison Abdolreza Ali (Matthias) Haghnejad 10/02/2019 Rasht Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, known as Matthias, who has a history of arrest dating back to 2006, was arrested again on 10 February 2019 during a raid on his home, and taken to an unknown location. Two weeks previously, fellow "Church of Iran" members Hossein Kadivar and Khalil Dehghanpour were detained following a raid on a "house church" meeting they were leading. Hossein and Khalil were released on bail in March, but Matthias was detained and charged with "action against national security" and "promoting Zionist Christianity". In July, the bail of Matthias and four others was increased tenfold after they insisted upon being defended by their own lawyer. Being unable and unprepared to pay such an amount, they were transferred to Ward 4 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Matthias remained detained alongside Shahrooz Eslamdoust, Mehdi Khatibi, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh, while the other four were conditionally released pending their appeal, which was rejected on 25 February 2020. In August 2021, after a short furlough, Matthias was transferred to Anzali Prison. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 30 December 2021, Matthias was released on bail, pending a review of his case. However, just two weeks later, on 15 January 2022, Matthias was unexpectedly summoned and sent back to Anzali Prison, having been told that a different Supreme Court judge had overturned the ruling of a 2014 appeal court, which had acquitted him of a previous six-year sentence for "propagating Christianity". In July 2022, Matthias was given leave from prison, which was later extended on multiple occasions. However, at a Christmas gathering in December 2022, Matthias was re-arrested, alongside two church members. A week later, his wife, Anahita, was also detained. On 9 July 2023, Matthias was flown from Rasht airport to Minab in the far south of Iran, 1,000 miles from home and family, and told he must serve the remainder of his sentence there. He was not given the chance to say goodbye to his wife or daughter. Four months later, Matthias was permitted the chance to fly home for the first time for a short visit, and in January 2024 he was told he would be permitted to visit his family monthly for the remainder of his sentence. But in April 2024, after only a few days of his latest home visit, Matthias was called unexpectedly and ordered to return to the prison, whereupon he was informed that his so-called “open sentence” would no longer apply to him. On 14 December 2024, Matthias was released from prison, but the charges against him related to his December 2022 arrest remained open. Released “Action against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity”, "Propagating Christianity" $130,000 5yrs in Prison, 6yrs in Prison Hossein Kadivar 29/01/2019 Rasht Hossein was detained following a raid on the “house church” meeting he was helping to lead in the absence of his imprisoned pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani. He and fellow leader Khalil Dehghanpour were arrested when officers from the Ministry of Intelligence scaled the wall of the property where the service was being held. The officers threatened all other attendees, confiscating their ID cards and mobile phones. He was released on bail on 16 March. At a hearing in July, five of his co-defendants had their bail increased tenfold after insisting on choosing their own lawyer, but Hossein and three others decided to defend themselves and were therefore released on their pre-existing bail. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Hossein was released on bail, pending appeal, alongside Khalil Dehghanpour, Kamal Naamanian and Mohammad Vafadar, while the other five remained detained. Their appeals were rejected on 25 February 2020. Hossein, Khalil, Kamal and Mohammad began serving their sentences on 1 June 2020, when they were detained a day before their summons deadline, having gone to ask for a few more days with their families. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Hossein was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. Acquitted “Acting against national security”, “Promoting Zionist Christianity” Approx. $13,000 5yrs in Prison Khalil Dehghanpour 29/01/2019 Rasht Khalil was detained following a raid on the “house church” meeting he was helping to lead in the absence of his imprisoned pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani. He and fellow leader Hossein Kadivar were arrested when officers from the Ministry of Intelligence scaled the wall of the property where the service was being held. The officers threatened all other attendees, confiscating their ID cards and mobile phones. He was released on bail on 17 March. At a hearing in July, five of his co-defendants had their bail increased tenfold after insisting on choosing their own lawyer, but Khalil and three others decided to defend themselves and were therefore released on their pre-existing bail. On 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years in prison. Khalil was released on bail, pending appeal, alongside Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Naamanian and Mohammad Vafadar, while the other five remained detained. Their appeals were rejected on 25 February 2020. Khalil, Hossein, Kamal and Mohammad began serving their sentences on 1 June 2020, when they were detained a day before their summons deadline, having gone to ask for a few more days with their families. On 3 November 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that belonging to a house-church and promoting Christianity should not be considered "acts against national security", and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. On 1 January 2022, Khalil was released on bail, pending a review of his case, which took place on 22 February at Branch 34 of Tehran’s appeal court. On 28 February, the nine men were all acquitted. Acquitted “Acting against national security”, "Promoting Zionist Christianity” Approx. $13,000 5yrs in Prison Mehdi Akbari 28/01/2019 Tehran Mehdi was first arrested alongside fellow Christian converts Fatemeh Sharifi, Simin Soheilinia and Mehdi Rokhparvar during coordinated raids on their homes by intelligence agents on 28 January 2019 in the Ariashahr area of Tehran. They were then all transferred to Evin Prison, where they were placed in solitary confinement and interrogated for 30 days, before being released on bail of 800 million tomans each on 18 March 2019, pending the outcome of their trial. They were tried on 16 June 2020 at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of “acting against national security” and “forming an illegal evangelical Christian group”. Four months later they were sentenced at the same branch - Mehdi, Fatemeh Sharifi and Simin Soheilinia were given 10-year sentences, and Mehdi Rokhparvar five. The judge, Mohammad Moghiseh, spoke obscenely to the Christians and would not listen to their defence, only citing the report of the intelligence agent. He then increased their bail to 7 billion tomans ($220,000). The two women were later freed on bail, but the men were transferred to Evin Prison and their sentences were communicated to them there on 17 October 2020. They have appealed. On 28 December 2021, Mehdi was informed that his 18-year-old son, Amin Ali, who had underlying health issues, had passed away in the care facility where he had been living since his father’s imprisonment. He was given five days’ leave - later extended to 10 days - from 1 January, but by that time his son’s funeral had already taken place. On 29 September 2024, Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeal reduced Mehdi's sentence to four years and five months, and he was released from prison, having already served four years and nine months. Released “Acting against national security by forming a house-church” 7 billion tomans (around $220,000) 4yrs in Prison Mehdi Rokhparvar 28/01/2019 Tehran Mehdi was first arrested alongside fellow Christian converts Fatemeh Sharifi, Simin Soheilinia and Mehdi Akbari during coordinated raids on their homes by intelligence agents on 28 January 2019 in the Ariashahr area of Tehran. They were then all transferred to Evin Prison, where they were placed in solitary confinement and interrogated for 30 days, before being released on bail of 800 million tomans each on 18 March 2019, pending the outcome of their trial. They were tried on 16 June 2020 at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of “acting against national security” and “forming an illegal evangelical Christian group”. Four months later they were sentenced at the same branch - Mehdi was given a five-year sentence, while Fatemeh Sharifi, Simin Soheilinia and Mehdi Akbari were given 10-year sentences. The judge, Mohammad Moghiseh, spoke obscenely to the Christians and would not listen to their defence, only citing the report of the intelligence agent. He then increased their bail to 7 billion tomans ($220,000). The two women were later freed on bail, but the men were transferred to Evin Prison and their sentences were communicated to them there on 17 October 2020. They have appealed. In February 2023, Mehdi was released as part of the mass release of political prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. Released "Acting against national security by forming a house-church" 7 billion tomans ($220,000) 5yrs in Prison Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad 25/01/2019 Shiraz Esmaeil Maghrebinezhad was arrested at his home in Shiraz at 3am. Plainclothes officers rang his doorbell, then slapped him in the face when he answered the door, before dragging him away. They returned five hours later to search his belongings and confiscate many of his personal items, including his laptop, mobile phone, Christian books and daily notebook. During his detention he was given little food, held in solitary confinement next to a noisy ventilator that made it impossible to sleep, and interrogated for 14 hours a day. He was insulted harshly, repeatedly ordered to revert to Islam, and asked why he had evangelised. In October 2019, Esmaeil’s bail was increased tenfold after he responded to a question from the judge about whether he had insulted Islam and was an apostate by saying that he had never insulted Islam and that different ayatollahs had different opinions over the question of apostasy. He was sentenced to three years in prison on 11 January 2020 for "insulting Islamic sacred beliefs". On 17 February 2020 he was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for membership of group espousing "Evangelical Zionist Christianity". At his retrial in May 2020, the judge reconvicted him of membership of a “Zionist Evangelical Christian” group “hostile to the regime” - the Anglican Church! - and convicted him of the additional charge of “propaganda against the state”, for which he was sentenced to an additional year in prison. In July 2020 Esmaeil was acquitted of his first sentence of "insulting Islamic sacred beliefs", but the other two sentences were upheld. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence “Propaganda against the state", “Insulting Islamic sacred beliefs”, and "Membership of a group hostile to the regime” Approx. $9,000 2yrs in Prison, 1yr in Prison, 3yrs in Prison Sina Moloudian 23/01/2019 Isfahan Sina Moloudian was arrested during a violent raid on his home. Witnesses told Article18 that he was dragged away with bruises around his eyes and told that he had been under surveillance for months. Eight plainclothes officers claiming to be from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) failed to show a warrant as they forced their way inside his house by breaking down the door. Sina’s parents were also present during the raid and witnessed their son’s arrest. The officers searched the house and confiscated Sina’s phone and computer, as well as his Bible and other Christian items, such as books, CDs and a cross. In 2020, Sina was given a two-year suspended sentence, dependent on him having no further involvement in Christian activities. Sentence suspended “Propaganda against the state through the promotion of the Christian faith and the distribution of Bibles” Approx. $7,500 2yrs in Prison Rokhsareh (Mahrokh) Ghanbari 20/12/2018 Karaj Mahrokh, who is in her sixties, was one of five female converts arrested just before Christmas 2018 during a raid on her home in Karaj. The officers confiscated several of her belongings, including her mobile phone, Bibles and other Christian materials. She was then detained and interrogated from morning until evening for ten days, before being released on bail. In January 2019 she was forced to visit an Islamic cleric to receive religious “instruction” and be offered the chance to revert to Islam. She was sentenced in July to a year in prison and was summoned to Shahid Kachooei Prison in Karaj to begin her sentence on 14 October. She was released on 36 days' leave from prison on 2 March 2020 due to fears over the coronavirus. A month later, she was told she would not need to return to prison. In January 2022 Mahrokh was summoned again to face the same charge for which she was first convicted. But when Mahrokh arrived she was told a mistake had been made and that she should not have been summoned. She was, however, warned not to engage in any Christian activities, especially online. Released "Propaganda against the system" Approx. $2,500 1yr in Prison Shima Zanganeh 02/12/2018 Ahvaz Shima Zanganeh was arrested alongside her sister Shoukoufeh and two other Christian converts in a series of raids by plainclothes Revolutionary Guards on their homes and workplaces on the morning of 2 December. Ten days later the sisters were brought before Branch 12 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz, where they were charged and their bail was set at 500 million tomans (nearly $45,000) each. Temporarily released on bail “Action against Iran’s national security through propagating Christianity," "Organisation of an illegal group” Approx. $45,000 Shoukoufeh Zanganeh 02/12/2018 Ahvaz Shoukoufeh Zanganeh was arrested alongside her sister Shima and two other Christian converts in a series of raids by plainclothes Revolutionary Guards on their homes and workplaces on the morning of 2 December. Ten days later the sisters were brought before Branch 12 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz, where they were charged and their bail was set at 500 million tomans (nearly $45,000) each. Temporarily released on bail “Action against Iran’s national security through propagating Christianity”, "Organisation of an illegal group" Approx. $45,000 Aziz Majidzadeh 02/03/2018 Karaj Aziz Majidzadeh, known as Andreas, was one of nine Christians arrested during the March 2018 raid on a Karaj house-church. He was released on bail on 10 May 2018, then in July 2020 was sentenced to four years in prison. However, on 9 November 2020 Andreas was acquitted on appeal, the judge ruling that there was insufficient evidence that leadership of a house-church amounted to “actions against national security”. Acquitted "Acting against national security through formation and membership of illegal house-churches" 4yrs in Prison Amin Khaki 12/12/2017 Fardis Amin was arrested alongside fellow converts Milad Goodarzi, Yaghoob Nateghi, Shahab Shahi and Alireza Nourmohammadi – all members of the non-Trinitarian “Church of Iran” – during raids on their homes and workplaces in December 2017. They were released in early 2018 after posting bail of 30 million tomans (around $7,000). In March 2019, Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were sentenced to four months in prison; Amin, who had already spent a year in prison for his religious activities, was given 14 months. Their appeals were rejected in June and they began serving their sentences on 9 July. Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were released on 8 October, having completed their sentences - including time in detention before trial. Amin remained in prison. On 2 March 2020, he was released on 36 days' leave due to fears over the coronavirus. This leave was later extended, and then on 6 April he was told he would not need to return to prison. However, in November 2020, Amin's home was one of 12 Christian homes raided by intelligence agents in Fardis. None of the Christians were arrested at that time, but many of their personal belongings were confiscated – including phones, laptops, Bibles, Christian literature and anything else to do with Christianity. The Christian items have not been returned. Then in the space of two weeks in January and February 2021, a member of each family was summoned for interrogation and ordered to sign commitments to refrain from meeting together – either in person or online. In May 2021, Amin, Milad and Alireza were charged with “engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam” - wording lifted directly from the newly amended Article 500 of the penal code - before being released on bail. They were told they must report weekly to the intelligence branch of Iran’s police force for the next six months. On 26 June 2021 they were sentenced to five years in prison and fined 40 million tomans ($1,800), following a short court hearing on 21 June at the 4th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, during which they were forced to defend themselves after the judge, Mehdi Zeinali, claimed their lawyer had not completed the necessary documentation. Having asked whether they may bring their lawyer with them to hear the verdict on 26 June, they were told they were not entitled to a lawyer – a clear breach both of their rights and Iran’s constitution. On 26 August, they were informed that their appeals had been rejected but their sentences reduced to three years. They began serving their sentences on 10 November. They were released in February-March 2023 as part of a mass "pardoning" of political prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. Released “Propaganda against the state”, “Engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam” 250 million tomans (around $12,000) 1yr in Prison, 40 million toman fine, 3yrs in Prison Milad Goodarzi 12/12/2017 Fardis Milad was arrested alongside fellow converts Amin Khaki, Yaghoob Nateghi, Shahab Shahi and Alireza Nourmohammadi – all members of the non-Trinitarian “Church of Iran” – during raids on their homes and workplaces in December 2017. They were released in early 2018 after posting bail of 30 million tomans (around $7,000). In March 2019, Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were sentenced to four months in prison; Amin was given 14 months. Their appeals were rejected in June and they began serving their sentences on 9 July. Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were released on 8 October, having completed their sentences - including time in detention before trial. However, in November 2020, Milad's home was one of 12 Christian homes raided by intelligence agents in Fardis. None of the Christians were arrested at that time, but many of their personal belongings were confiscated – including phones, laptops, Bibles, Christian literature and anything else to do with Christianity. The Christian items have not been returned. Then in the space of two weeks in January and February 2021, a member of each family was summoned for interrogation and ordered to sign commitments to refrain from meeting together – either in person or online. In May 2021, Milad, Amin and Alireza were charged with “engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam” - wording lifted directly from the newly amended Article 500 of the penal code - before being released on bail. They were told they must report weekly to the intelligence branch of Iran’s police force for the next six months. On 26 June they were sentenced to five years in prison and fined 40 million tomans ($1,800), following a short court hearing on 21 June at the 4th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, during which they were forced to defend themselves after the judge, Mehdi Zeinali, claimed their lawyer had not completed the necessary documentation. Having asked whether they may bring their lawyer with them to hear the verdict on 26 June, they were told they were not entitled to a lawyer – a clear breach both of their rights and Iran’s constitution. On 26 August, they were informed that their appeals had been rejected but their sentences reduced to three years. They began serving their sentences on 10 November. They were released in February-March 2023 as part of a mass "pardoning" of political prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. However, on 11 December 2023, Milad and Alireza were re-arrested, alongside Alireza's brother and son. Alireza and has brother were detained for one month and charged again under the amended Article 500 with "deviant educational or propaganda activities contrary to the holy Islamic law by making false claims in religious fields”. Temporarily released on bail "Propaganda against the state", “Engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam” Around $3,000 Less than a year in Prison, 40 million toman fine, 3yrs in Prison Alireza Nourmohammadi 12/12/2017 Fardis Alireza was arrested alongside fellow converts Amin Khaki, Yaghoob Nateghi, Milad Goodarzi and Shahab Shahi – all members of the non-Trinitarian “Church of Iran” – during raids on their homes and workplaces in December 2017. They were released in early 2018 after posting bail of 30 million tomans (around $7,000). In March 2019, Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were sentenced to four months in prison; Amin was given 14 months. Their appeals were rejected in June 2019 and they began serving their sentences on 9 July 2019. Alireza, Milad, Yaghoob and Shahab were released on 8 October, having completed their sentences - including time in detention before trial. However, in November 2020, Alireza's home was one of 12 Christian homes raided by intelligence agents in Fardis. None of the Christians were arrested at that time, but many of their personal belongings were confiscated – including phones, laptops, Bibles, Christian literature and anything else to do with Christianity. The Christian items have not been returned. Then in the space of two weeks in January and February 2021, a member of each family was summoned for interrogation and ordered to sign commitments to refrain from meeting together – either in person or online. In May 2021, Alireza, Amin and Milad were charged with “engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam” - wording lifted directly from the newly amended Article 500 of the penal code - before being released on bail. They were told they must report weekly to the intelligence branch of Iran’s police force for the next six months. On 26 June 2021 they were sentenced to five years in prison and fined 40 million tomans ($1,800), following a short court hearing on 21 June 2021 at the 4th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, during which they were forced to defend themselves after the judge, Mehdi Zeinali, claimed their lawyer had not completed the necessary documentation. Having asked whether they may bring their lawyer with them to hear the verdict on 26 June, they were told they were not entitled to a lawyer – a clear breach both of their rights and Iran’s constitution. On 26 August 2021, they were informed that their appeals had been rejected but their sentences reduced to three years. They began serving their sentences on 10 November 2021. They were released in February-March 2023 as part of a mass "pardoning" of political prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. However, on 11 December 2023, Alireza and Milad were re-arrested, alongside Alireza's brother and son, detained for one month, and charged again under the amended Article 500 with "deviant educational or propaganda activities contrary to the holy Islamic law by making false claims in religious fields”. They were released on bail equivalent to $3,000 on 10 January 2024, and later sentenced, though the details have not been made public. Temporarily released on bail "Propaganda against the state", “Engaging in propaganda that educates in a deviant way contrary to the holy religion of Islam” 150 million tomans (around $5,500) Less than a year in Prison, 40 million toman fine, 3yrs in Prison Shahab Shahi 12/12/2017 Karaj Shahab was arrested alongside fellow converts Amin Khaki, Yaghoob Nateghi, Milad Goodarzi and Alireza Nourmohammadi – all members of the non-Trinitarian “Church of Iran” – during raids on their homes and workplaces in December 2017. They were released in early 2018 after posting bail of 30 million tomans (around $7,000). In March 2019, Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were sentenced to four months in prison; Amin was given 14 months. Their appeals were rejected in June and they began serving their sentences on 9 July. Shahab, Yaghoob, Milad and Alireza were released on 8 October, having completed their sentences - including time in detention before trial. Amin remained in prison for a further five months. In December 2023, Shahab was re-arrested alongside Alireza Nourmohammadi and Milad Goodarzi and Alireza’s brother Amir. Shahab appeared at a Revolutionary Court in Karaj in March 2024, charged with the same "offence" for which he was previously imprisoned: “propaganda against the state”. He was later sentenced, though the details have not been made public. Temporarily released on bail "Propaganda against the state" Around $7,000 Less than a year in Prison Yaghoob Nateghi 12/12/2017 Karaj Yaghoob was arrested alongside fellow converts Amin Khaki, Alireza Nourmohammadi, Milad Goodarzi and Shahab Shahi – all members of the non-Trinitarian “Church of Iran” – during raids on their homes and workplaces in December 2017. They were released in early 2018 after posting bail of 30 million tomans (around $7,000). In March 2019, Milad, Yaghoob, Shahab and Alireza were sentenced to four months in prison; Amin was given 14 months. Their appeals were rejected in June and they began serving their sentences on 9 July. Yaghoob, Milad, Shahab and Alireza were released on 8 October, having completed their sentences - including time in detention before trial. Amin remained in prison for a further five months. Released "Propaganda against the state" Around $7,000 Less than a year in Prison Fatemeh (Mary) Mohammadi 17/11/2017 Tehran Christian convert Fatemeh (Mary) Mohammadi spent six months in prison for “membership of evangelical groups” before her release on 14 May 2018. In July 2019 she faced charges of "improper" wearing of hijab, having initially gone to police to complain of an assault. Then on 12 January 2020, Fatemeh was arrested near Azadi Square, Tehran, where protests were taking place. There was no news about her for a month. Eventually it was discovered that she was in Qarchak Prison. She was released on bail on 26 February, and her court hearing on 2 March was postponed due to the coronavirus. She was charged with “disturbing public order by participating in an illegal rally". In April 2020 Mary was sentenced to three months and one day in prison, and 10 lashes, both suspended for a year. In January 2021, Mary reported another arrest – this time for alleged “improper” hijab – and also that she continues to be denied employment. However, Mary was not called to serve her suspended sentence. No longer under investigation “Membership of evangelical groups”,“Disturbing public order by participating in an illegal rally" Approx $2,250 Less than a year in Prison, 10 lashes Abdul Ali Pourmand 19/10/2017 Dezful Following the arrest of some other Christians in the city of Dezful, security officials arrested this Christian convert and transferred him to Ahwaz prison, where he was reportedly beaten and threatened to renounce his Christian faith. On 25 November, he was released on bail pending a court hearing. Temporarily released on bail "Acting against national security by conducting house-church activities" Approx. $60,000 Mohammad Ali Torabi 10/10/2017 Dezful Security officials arrested this Christian convert in Dezful and transferred him to Ahwaz prison. Two other Christians were also arrested along with Mohammad, who is known as Davoud, but were freed after interrogation. Davoud's house was searched and Christian books and literature were confiscated. He was released on 22 November 2017 on bail. On 19 April 2021, Davoud and three other converts were arrested and detained for two days, then released on the condition they partake in no further Christian activities. On 20 July, the four men and four others were ordered to appear at the 4th branch of the prosecutor’s office of the Civil and Revolutionary Court of Dezful within five days to answer charges of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic". Davoud and the three others later complained that the Ministry of Intelligence had refused to return confiscated items to them. These were eventually returned after more than six months. Then on 30 November 2021 the charges against all eight men were dropped, the prosecutor ruling that their decision to change religion was "not criminalised in the laws of Iran". However, two months later, on 28 January 2022, the eight men and two other converts were summoned by Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents and told they would be forced to attend 10 "re-education" sessions with Islamic clerics in an effort to correct their "misled" beliefs. Attending re-education sessions "Acting against national security by conducting house-church activities", "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic" Approx. $60,000 Eskandar Rezaei 06/07/2017 Shiraz Eskandar Rezaei was arrested at his home in Lar, where several New Testaments were confiscated. He was held at Adel-Abad prison in Shiraz until he was released on bail on 25 September 2017. Eskander attended a court hearing on 28 December 2017, in Shiraz. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for “action against national security” and one year for proselytising and forming house meetings. He appealed the sentences. The appeal hearing took place on 8 March 2018. Temporarily released on bail , Pending appeal “Acting against national security by proselytising and forming house meetings” Approx. $140,000 8yrs in Prison Suroush Saraei 06/07/2017 Shiraz Suroush Saraei was arrested and transferred to Adel-Abad prison in Shiraz. He was released on bail on 18 October 2017. He attended a court hearing on 28 December 2017, where he was sentenced to seven years in prison for “action against national security” and one year for proselytising and forming house meetings. He appealed the sentences. His appeal hearing took place on 8 March 2018. Temporarily released on bail , Pending appeal “Acting against national security by proselytising and forming house meetings”, "forgery" [for issuing letters as the pastor of 'the Church of Shiraz' for students seeking exemption from Islamic studies classes] Approx. $95,000 8yrs in Prison Shamiram Issavi Khabizeh 19/06/2017 Tehran On 19 June 2017, Shamiram Issavi Khabizeh, the wife of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, was detained for one day, then released on bail. She was charged with “acting against national security and against the regime by organising small groups, attending a seminary abroad and training church leaders and pastors to act as spies”. She was sentenced to five years in prison on 6 January 2018. Two and a half years later, on 11 August 2020, Shamiram found out her appeal had failed as she was summoned to begin her sentence. The day before she was due to hand herself in, she fled Iran. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence “Acting against national security and against the regime by organising small groups, attending a seminary abroad and training church leaders and pastors to act as spies” Approx. $30,000 5yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban Fatemeh (Aylar) Bakhtari 25/05/2017 Rasht Aylar was one of a number of people arrested during a raid on her home in May 2017. She was sentenced in September 2018, alongside fellow convert Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie, who was already serving another prison sentence on charges related to his faith. At their appeal hearing in January 2019, the two converts were asked to renounce their faith. When they refused, they were told they would receive the judge's verdict in a few days. Four months later, they were told their appeal had failed. Aylar began serving her sentence on 31 August 2019. On 15 March 2020, she was given temporary leave from prison due to the coronavirus outbreak. This was later extended. Then on Easter Day, Fatemeh was told she had been pardoned on the occasion of Persian New Year (Nowruz). Released "Spreading propaganda against the regime” Approx. $110.000 1yr in Prison Anousheh (Veronica) Reza-bakhsh 19/02/2017 Orumiyeh Veronica, a Catholic Christian convert, was arrested in Orumiyeh. In August 2017 it was reported that Veronica and her son, Soheil (Augustine) Zagarzadeh Sani, were released on bail. They were sentenced by Judge Sheikhloo at a Revolutionary Court to five years in prison. But on 23 May 2018, their sentences were reduced on appeal to 91 days, and they were released owing to time already served. Released "Acting against national security by conducting evangelistic activities” 5yrs in Prison Soheil (Augustine) Zagarzadeh Sani 19/02/2017 Orumiyeh Augustine, a Catholic Christian convert, was arrested in Orumiyeh. In August 2017 it was reported that Augustine and his mother, Anousheh (Veronica) Reza-bakhsh, were released on bail. They were sentenced by Judge Sheikhloo at a Revolutionary Court to five years in prison. But on 23 May 2018, their sentences were reduced on appeal to 91 days, and they were released owing to time already served. Released "Acting against national security by conducting evangelistic activities” Unknown 5yrs in Prison Ramiel Bet-Tamraz 26/08/2016 Firoozkooh On 26 August 2016, seven Christians including Ramiel Bet-Tamraz were arrested. Ramiel was released on bail on 10 October 2016. On 8 July 2018, he was sentenced to four months in prison. After failing with his appeal, he was summoned to begin his sentence on 7 January 2020. He was released on 26 February. His father, Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, and mother, Shamiram Issavi Khabizeh, later fled the country after failing to overturn their own lengthy prison sentences. Released "Acting against national security through house-church activities" Approx. $33,000 Less than a year in Prison Hadi Asgari 26/08/2016 Firoozkooh Seven Christians including Hadi Asgari were arrested during a retreat. On 3 June 2017, a Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Hadi and three other co-defendants to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”. They each also received two-year travel bans. On 11 April 2018 Hadi was released on bail, pending his appeal. Hadi found out his appeal had been rejected in August 2020, when he was summoned to begin his sentence, but he is no longer in the country and does not intend to return. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence “Acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” Approx. $60,000 10yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban Amir Saman Dashti 26/08/2016 Firoozkooh Seven Christians including Amir were arrested during a retreat. Amir was charged with “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” and released on bail in November 2016. On 8 July 2018, he was sentenced in absentia to four months in prison. After failing with his appeal, he served his sentence in early 2020, before being released early owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Released “Acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” Approx. $33,000 Less than a year in Prison Mohammad Dehnavi 26/08/2016 Firoozkooh Seven Christians including Mohammad Dehnavi were arrested during a retreat. He was charged with “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” and released on bail on 10 October 2016. Mohammad was sentenced to four months in prison on 18 June 2018. Released “Acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” Approx. $33,000 Less than a year in Prison Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh 24/06/2016 Shahriar Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh was arrested alongside three Azerbaijani Christians. On 29 October 2016 all four were released on bail. On 22 June 2017, they were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. The appeal hearing took place on 12 November 2017 but the sentences were upheld in December 2017. Nasser began serving his sentence in Evin Prison on 20 January 2018. He appealed on numerous occasions for a retrial, parole or a reduction in his sentence, but each time was refused. Until, surprisingly, on 17 October 2022, two days after a fire at the prison, Nasser was told he was to be "pardoned", and later that day was able to finally return home. On 6 February 2025, Nasser was re-arrested by intelligence agents at his home near Tehran and taken back to Evin Prison. A number of other Christians, including fellow former prisoner of conscience Joseph Shahbazian, were arrested on the same day, though the reason for the arrests remained unclear. Following his arrest, Nasser underwent a 35-day hunger strike to protest against the continued persecution of treatment. On 17 March 2025, he was rushed to hospital after suffering a stroke. Two days later, he was returned to prison. Evin Prison-Tehran Detained "Acting against national security with the intention to overthrow the regime through organisational relations with The Word of Life Church in Sweden and Elam's Zionist Christianity" --- 10yrs in Prison Eldar Gurbanov 24/06/2016 Shahriar Eldar Gurbanov was arrested alongside two fellow Azerbaijanis and Iranian Christian Nasser Navard-Goltapeh. On 29 October 2016 all four were released on bail. On 22 June 2017 they were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. The appeal hearing took place on 12 November 2017, but the sentence was upheld in December 2017. Eldar returned to Azerbaijan after his release and has remained there. Temporarily released on bail "Acting against national security with the intention to overthrow the regime through organisational relations with The Word of Life Church in Sweden" Approx. $33,000 10yrs in Prison Yusif Farhadov 24/06/2016 Shahriar Yusif Farhadov was arrested alongside two fellow Azerbaijanis and Iranian Christian Nasser Navard-Goltapeh. On 29 October 2016 all four were released on bail. On 22 June 2017 they were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. The appeal hearing took place on 12 November 2017, but the sentence was upheld in December 2017. Yusif returned to Azerbaijan after his release and has remained there. Temporarily released on bail "Acting against national security with the intention to overthrow the regime through organisational relations with The Word of Life Church in Sweden" Approx. $33,000 10yrs in Prison Bahram Nasibov 24/06/2016 Shahriar Bahram Nasibov was arrested alongside two fellow Azerbaijanis and Iranian Christian Nasser Navard-Goltapeh. On 29 October 2016 all four were released on bail. On 22 June 2017 they were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. The appeal hearing took place on 12 November 2017, but the sentence was upheld in December 2017. Bahram returned to Azerbaijan after his release and has remained there. Temporarily released on bail "Acting against national security with the intention to overthrow the regime through organisational relations with The Word of Life Church in Sweden" Approx. $33,000 10yrs in Prison Yousef Nadarkhani 13/05/2016 Rasht On Friday 13 May, 2016, security forces arrested Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and his wife Fatemeh Pasandideh, together with three other members of the self-styled "Church of Iran". Yousef and his wife were released the same day. On 6 July, 2017 Yousef was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising house churches and promoting 'Zionist Christianity'". He was also sentenced to two years of exile in Nik-Shahr, in the south of the country. The sentences were upheld by the appeal court on 2 May 2018. At a retrial in June 2020, Yousef's sentence was reduced to six years, but he still faces two years in exile after his release. On 15 April 2022, Yousef was given his very first break from prison, a week’s furlough on bail of 300 million tomans (around $11,500), which was later extended by a further seven days, for which he was eligible having never previously taken any leave. He had been denied his first request for a furlough. In February 2023, Yousef was released as part of the mass release of political prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. However, shortly afterwards he was summoned to receive 30 lashes for reporting late after a furlough, and told he would also soon be summoned to begin the two-year term of exile that was part of his initial sentence. Released “Acting against national security by organising house churches and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. Approx. $33.000 2yrs in Exile, 6yrs in Prison Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie 13/05/2016 Rasht On Friday 13 May, 2016, security forces arrested Zaman (Saheb) Fadaie and four other members of the self-styled "Church of Iran". Saheb was released two weeks later on bail. On 10 September 2016, Saheb and two others were sentenced by a civil and revolutionary court to 80 lashes each for drinking wine during Communion. Then on 6 July 2017, Saheb and three other co-defendants were sentenced by a revolutionary court to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising house churches and promoting 'Zionist Christianity'" - a sentence upheld by the appeal court on 2 May 2018. In September 2018, Saheb was given a separate sentence of 18 months in prison and two years in exile for “spreading propaganda against the regime”, alongside fellow convert Fatemeh Bakhtari. At a retrial in June 2020, Saheb's 10-year sentence was reduced to six years. Saheb's 80 lashes were carried out on 15 November 2020. In 2021, Saheb was twice told his appeal for parole had been rejected, though he had never applied, maintaining that he could not accept the condition of having no further involvement in house-churches. On 9 February 2023, Saheb was "pardoned" as part of a wider amnesty of prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic. However, on 25 June 2023, Saheb was flogged 50 times for not returning to prison on time following a furlough, and told he has "a few days" to begin his two years' exile in the remote city of Nehbandan. Released Drinking wine during Communion, “Acting against national security by organising house churches and promoting Zionist Christianity”, and "Spreading propaganda against the regime” Approx. $40,000 6yrs in Prison, 2yrs in Exile, 80 Lashes Mohammad-Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh 13/05/2016 Rasht On Friday 13 May, 2016, security forces arrested Mohammad-Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh and four other members of the self-styled "Church of Iran". He was released two weeks later on bail. On 10 September 2016, Yasser and two others were sentenced to 80 lashes each for drinking wine during Communion. On 6 July 2017, Yasser and three other co-defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising house churches and promoting 'Zionist Christianity'" - a sentence upheld by the appeal court on 2 May 2018. On 22 February 2021, Yasser was granted early release from prison on the condition he engages in no further Christian activity. It's understood his sentence was reduced to three years a month before his release and that he was told he would be freed if he recanted his faith. Released Drinking wine during Communion and “Acting against national security by organising house churches and promoting Zionist Christianity” Approx. $40,000 80 Lashes, 3yrs in Prison Mohammad-Reza (Youhan) Omidi 13/05/2016 Rasht On Friday 13 May 2016, security forces arrested Mohammad-Reza (Youhan) Omidi and four other members of the self-styled "Church of Iran". Youhan was released two weeks later on bail. On 10 September 2016, Youhan and two others were sentenced to 80 lashes each for drinking wine during Communion. On 6 July 2017, Youhan and three other co-defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising house-churches and 'promoting Zionist Christianity'". Youhan was also sentenced to two years of exile in Borazjan, a city in the south of the country - a sentence upheld by the appeal court on 2 May 2018. In June 2020, Youhan's 10-year sentence was reduced to two years at a retrial. He was released from prison on 18 August 2020, but a month later began his two years in exile. Then, on 14 October 2020, Youhan was summoned back to Rasht to receive his 80 lashes. However, when he went to the local authorities in his city of exile to seek permission to travel back to Rasht, they carried out the lashes then and there. On 6 June 2022, Youhan was finally told he could return home from exile, but warned against any further Christian activities. Released Drinking wine during Communion and “Acting against national security by organising house churches and promoting Zionist Christianity” Approx. $40,000 80 Lashes, 2yrs in Exile, 2yrs in Prison Shapoor Jozi 07/04/2015 Bushehr Shapoor Jozi was one of 12 Christians arrested by plainclothes agents on raids on their homes in April 2015, along with his wife Parastou Zariftash. In August 2018, the 12 were sentenced to one year's imprisonment for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity”. Their sentences were upheld at an appeal hearing in March 2019. Temporarily released on bail “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity.” 1yr in Prison Parastou Zariftash 07/04/2015 Bushehr Parastou was one of 12 Christians arrested by plainclothes agents on raids on their homes in April 2015, along with her husband Shapoor Jozi. In August 2018, the 12 were sentenced to one year's imprisonment for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity”. Their sentences were upheld at an appeal hearing in March 2019. Temporarily released on bail “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity.” 1yr in Prison Payam Kharaman 07/04/2015 Bushehr Payam was one of 12 Christians arrested by plainclothes agents on raids on their homes in April 2015. In August 2018, the 12 were sentenced to one year's imprisonment for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity”. Their sentences were upheld at an appeal hearing in March 2019. Temporarily released on bail “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity” 1yr in Prison Abdolmajid Heydari 07/04/2015 Bushehr Abdolmajid was one of 12 Christians arrested by plainclothes agents on raids on their homes in April 2015. In August 2018, the 12 were sentenced to one year's imprisonment for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity”. Their sentences were upheld at an appeal hearing in March 2019. Abdolmajid began serving his sentence in March 2021. In August 2021, he was released with an electronic tag to complete the remainder of his sentence at home. Released “Propaganda against the Islamic Republic for the benefit of Christianity” 1yr in Prison Victor Bet-Tamraz 26/12/2014 Tehran On 26 December 2014 security officers raided the house of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, an Assyrian Christian, during a Christmas celebration. Pastor Victor and two others in attendance were detained. Pastor Victor was released on bail on 1 March 2015. On 3 June 2017, he and three other co-defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison each for “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”. They also received a two-year ban on travel abroad. Finally, after a three-year-long appeal, on 19 July 2020 Victor was informed his appeal had failed. Three weeks later, after his wife was summoned to begin her own prison sentence, the couple fled Iran. Temporarily released on bail , Awaiting summons “Acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” Approx. $110,000 10yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban Amin Afshar-Naderi 26/12/2014 Tehran On 26 December 2014 security officers raided the house of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, an Assyrian Christian, during a Christmas celebration. Of those in attendance, Pastor Victor, Amin Afshar-Naderi and Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi were detained. In February 2015 Amin was released on bail. On 26 August 2016, Amin was re-arrested with seven other Christians in Firoozkooh. On 3 June 2017, Amin was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” and a further five years in prison for “insulting the sacred”. He also received a two-year ban on travel abroad. Amin found out his appeal had been rejected in August 2020, when he was summoned to begin his sentence, but he is no longer in the country and does not intend to return. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence “Acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”, “Insulting the sacred” Approx. $40,000 15yrs in Prison, 2yrs Travel Ban Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi 26/12/2014 Tehran On 26 December 2014 security officers raided the house of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, an Assyrian Christian, during a Christmas celebration. Of those in attendance, Pastor Victor, Amin Afshar-Naderi and Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi were detained. In February 2015 Kavian was released on bail. On 3 June 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”. He also received a two-year ban on travel abroad. Kavian found out his appeal had been rejected in August 2020, when he was summoned to begin his sentence, but he is no longer in the country and does not intend to return. Temporarily released on bail , Summoned to begin sentence “Acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches” Approx. $40,000 10yrs in Prison Ebrahim Firouzi 21/08/2013 Karaj Ebrahim Firouzi was arrested with Sevada Aghasar on 21 August 2013 and sentenced to one year in prison. He was re-tried and sentenced on 20 April 2015 to a further five years in prison on similar charges. Ebrahim was released from prison on 26 October but was then made to serve two years in internal exile in the remote province of Sistan and Baluchestan. In March 2020 that exile was extended by a further 11 month owing to an "unauthorised" leave of absence, when Ebrahim visited home to sort out some family affairs related to the death of his mother while he was in prison. In September 2020 Ebrahim was threatened with new charges of "insulting the sacred" and "propaganda against the state through promoting the Christian faith", but the local prosecutor dismissed the charges. However, in February 2021 Ebrahim was summoned again to answer charges of "insulting the sacred" (blasphemy) and "propaganda against the Islamic Republic in favour of hostile groups". Ebrahim went to the prosecutor's office the next day, 8 February, and was transferred immediately to Chabahar Prison. On 13 February Ebrahim began an indefinite hunger strike in protest against the new charges, saying he wouldn't eat again until they were dropped. He ended his hunger strike two days later after receiving assurances from intelligence agents, after which he was transferred to Zahedan Central Prison. He was released on bail on 27 February. He was finally released in November 2021, and not forced to serve the additional 11 months in exile. On 20 February 2024, Ebrahim passed away at the age of 37. His family said he died of a heart attack. Deceased "Propaganda against the state", "Relations, collaboration with, or membership in organisations that aim to disrupt national security", "Insulting the sacred", "Propaganda against the Islamic Republic in favour of hostile groups" 50 million tomans (approx. $16,500) 6yrs in Prison, 2yrs in Exile Sevada Aghasar 21/08/2013 Karaj Sevada Aghasar was arrested with Ebrahim Firouzi on 21 August 2013, then released on bail in March 2014. He was sentenced on 20 April 2015 to five years in prison. The appeal was unsuccessful and he began serving his sentence in July 2017. He was granted conditional release two years later, in July 2019. Released "Acting against national security through house-church activities" --- 5yrs in Prison Mohammad (Vahid) Roghangir 12/10/2012 Shiraz, Bandar Anzali Mohammad (Vahid) Roghangir was arrested on 12 October 2012 with seven other members of a church in Shiraz, then released on bail after interrogation. On 16 July 2013, he was sentenced to six years in prison. On 5 July 2014, while waiting for the appeal court verdict, he was re-arrested in Bandar Azali. He was denied early release in October 2016. Released "Acting against national security through house-church activities" --- 6yrs in Prison Full Name Location of arrest Currently held at Status Sentence