Hadi Rahimi, a Christian believer, was sent to Evin Prison to serve his sentence.
Hadi Rahimi, a Christian believer, was sent to Evin Prison on Sunday, January 9, to serve his sentence. Mr. Rahimi had previously been sentenced to 4 years in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. This sentence was ultimately upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal.
According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, on Sunday, January 9, 2021, Hadi Rahimi, a Christian convert, was sent to Evin Prison.
This citizen had previously been summoned by Branch 1 of the Evin Court's Sentence Enforcement Unit to serve his sentence.
Hadi Rahimi Ahmad Gorabi, along with three other Christian believers, was interrogated in February 2019 after security agents arrived at his home on charges of "propaganda against the system and society and collusion against national security." After his personal belongings and documents were confiscated, he was told that he would soon be summoned to court.
Mr. Rahimi was summoned to Branch 10 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court on behalf of the Tehran Revolutionary Court in a telephone call in May 2020, and after being informed of the charges, a bail of 500 million Tomans was issued to him. On May 15, due to his financial inability to post bail, he was transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht, and on May 21, his bail was reduced to 200 million Tomans and he was temporarily released from prison until the end of the proceedings.
Hadi Rahimi was sentenced to 4 years in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of “membership in a group or gangs with the aim of disrupting the country’s security” in August 2019. In October of the same year, this sentence was confirmed by Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal.
It is said that one of the charges against him was "participating in house church meetings."
It is worth noting that despite the fact that Christians are recognized as a religious minority by law, the security services follow the issue of Muslims converting to Christianity with particular sensitivity and deal with activists in this field with force.
The treatment of Christian believers in Iran is taking place despite the fact that, according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of religion and to change their religion with conviction, as well as the freedom to manifest it, individually or in community with others and in public or in private.
Source: HRANA
