Hakop Guchomyan, Armenian Citizen, Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison
Hakop Guchomyan, an Armenian citizen who has been held in Evin Prison since last year, has been sentenced to ten years in prison.
35-year-old Armenian citizen Hakop Guchomyan traveled to Iran last summer with his wife when they were arrested by security forces, and Hakop has remained in detention since that time.
He was sentenced to imprisonment on March 5 of last year by Judge Iman Afshari in Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. According to the “Article 18” organization, he has now been sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of “deviant educational and propaganda activities contrary to sacred Islamic law through membership and direction of evangelical Christian networks in the country.” Other charges filed against this Christian citizen include possessing seven Bibles in the Persian language at home, and twice being present in the homes of Christians and in Armenian-language churches.
The charge against him regarding attendance at an Armenian-language church is particularly notable because Armenian-language churches are permitted to operate and attendance at them and participation in their ceremonies is not considered a crime. However, the Revolutionary Court has also deemed Mr. Hakop’s presence in an official Armenian-language church and his visits as a guest in Christian homes to be criminal acts.
Judicial authorities have also arrested several other Christians and, while merging Hakop Guchomyan’s case with theirs and filing similar charges against all ten citizens in the case, have issued verdicts. Judge Afshari has consistently sentenced many Christians to prison terms for their religious beliefs and peaceful religious activities.
Now, the defendants in this case have been sentenced to a total of 42 years imprisonment, 500 million tomans in fines, deprivation of fifth-degree social rights, and substantial confiscation of their assets. According to reports published by Article 18, for five of these citizens, additional penalties have been imposed including bans on leaving the country, bans on membership in political and social organizations or groups, and bans on residence in Tehran Province and neighboring provinces for two years.
According to statements by a source close to Mr. Hakop, the judge of Branch 36 of Tehran Province Appeals Court rejected the appeal and legal arguments of Mr. Guchomyan’s lawyer and, without providing sufficient justification, upheld the lower court’s verdict in June of the current year.
It should be noted that Mr. Hakop, due to his lack of familiarity with the Persian language and lack of access to a translator, was unable to properly understand the charges or respond to them. Additionally, his statement that he brought the Bible books at the request of his Armenian friends as a gift to them, as it is their official book and carries no prohibition, was not accepted by the judicial court.
