Christian convert Ghazal is serving a sentence of nine years and eight months in Evin Prison on charges including “propaganda against the state” and “gathering and collusion against national security”.
Ghazal was sentenced in May 2026 by notorious Revolutionary Court judge Iman Afshari, having been re-arrested at home in Tehran in January 2026, after previously spending two months in Evin Prison in 2024 after being convicted of “propaganda against the state by chanting slogans”.
Ghazal’s Bible and other Christian literature were confiscated during the re-arrest, and Ghazal was then taken away to an unknown location, with no explanation given.
Two hours later, Ghazal called home to report being held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre, but for the next month remained incommunicado.
According to Article18’s sources, Ghazal was pressured during interrogations to admit that the Bible and other Christian literature had been used for evangelical purposes, but Ghazal denied this, saying they had been for personal use only and that every Christian had the right to possess them.
Ghazal was first arrested in November 2024, after protesting against the harassment endured since converting to Catholicism seven years prior.
After converting, the Islamic law graduate was prevented from taking the bar examination and pressured to leave the country, while Ghazal’s spouse, a fellow convert, has been unable to access the medication required to manage Parkinson’s disease.
Article18’s executive director, Mansour Borji, said that due to Ghazal’s spouse’s condition, the sentencing was in reality “a sentence for both of them”.
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