9 Christian Converts in Iran Sentenced to Total of 45 Years in Prison

Nine Christian converts named Abdolreza (Matthias) Alighechnezad, Shahrouz Islamdoust, Behnam Ekhlaqi, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Khatibi, Khalil Dehqanpour, Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Namanian, and Mohammad Vafadar have been sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told Voice of America that these Christian converts from Rasht, members of the Church of Iran, were each sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “actions against national security” in a joint case by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh, with the sentence delivered to them on October 12, 2019.

According to the informed source, the nine Christian converts were arrested between January 30 and February 23, 2018 in their private homes or home churches. Four of them named Khalil Dehqanpour, Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Namanian, and Mohammad Vafadar were temporarily released in March of that year after posting bail of 150 million tomans until the end of legal proceedings.

The other five converts faced a tenfold increase in bail after refusing to accept a court-appointed lawyer and insisting on their choice of lawyer, and due to their inability to pay, they were transferred to Section 4 of Evin Prison.

The informed source told Voice of America that these Christian converts are currently appealing the verdict issued by the lower court and are awaiting a decision from the appellate court.

Previously, two other Christian converts named Fatimeh (Ailar) Bakhtari and Zaman (Saheb) Fadai, whose sentence was issued by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Masallah Ahmadzadeh, was upheld by Branch 54 of the Tehran Court of Appeals headed by Judge Hassan Babaei, with the sentence delivered to these two Iranian Christian citizens on May 18.

Such sentences have been issued and upheld for these Christian citizens while Iranian Islamic Republic officials, including Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, have repeatedly claimed that no one in Iran is prosecuted or convicted solely for expressing their views.

Previously, Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, told Voice of America: “Iran has the worst record in the State Department regarding persecution of religious minorities, and this regime persecutes any religious minority it deems undesirable.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in remarks during the release of the annual report on religious freedom, stated that the suppression of Bahá’ís, Christians, and other religious and faith minorities in Iran continues to be a serious concern.