Letter from Christian Citizen ‘Yaser Akbari’ from Evin: I am a prisoner in the hands of enemies of my homeland

Mehdi (Yaser) Akbari, a Christian citizen, wrote in a letter from Evin: I am a prisoner in the hands of enemies of my homeland.

Mehdi Akbari was sentenced in October 2020 to 10 years of imprisonment by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh due to his Christian faith and peaceful religious activity, as well as charges of “acting against national security by establishing a home church.”

This is not the first time that the Islamic Republic government has persecuted individuals with Christian faith and sentenced them to imprisonment. In past decades, many of them, particularly citizens, have been sentenced to imprisonment on charges such as “propaganda against the system” and “acting against national security” without any evidence or documentation.

Mr. Akbari, who is currently serving his sentence in Evin Prison, wrote a letter on Monday, July 16, regarding his situation, which reads: “The court was hundreds of times worse than the initial interrogation and questioning. They considered Christianity a ‘deviant sect’ and referred to me as a follower of it. The judge in my case had criminalized my actions so recklessly that he even forgot that Jews and Christians are followers of two separate religions. He declared me a follower of the deviant religion of Christianity and a Jewish person attached to Israel. A mockery rather than a court verdict.”

In this letter, he stated that he was deprived of having a lawyer and has been subjected to severe “white” torture, psychological abuse in prison, and baseless charges related to national security. Additionally, his son named Amir Ali, who is seriously ill, has been deprived of care and supervision since his father’s arrest.

Mehdi Akbari, referring to his son’s illness, stated that one of the main reasons for his return to Iran was to care for his 16-year-old son whose congenital illness had reached its peak. He wrote that when he entered Iran in 2017, his passport was confiscated, and after spending time caring for his son’s medical needs, he was arrested by security forces. He said he thought they would tell him the reasons for the crimes he had committed and that he could respond to them after consulting with his lawyer. But without a lawyer and in handcuffs, like a lamb being led to slaughter, I was brought to someone I realized was an interrogator.

He, who is a prisoner of conscience, continued: “When the charge of ‘acting against the country’s national security’ was raised during the explanation of charges, I had no lawyer to ask about the meaning of this charge, its consequences, and the criteria for committing it. This session of charge imposition lasted 5 minutes, and I was placed in solitary confinement and in the custody of the IRGC intelligence.”

He further wrote in his letter: “Confusion, psychological pressures, and my daily suffering were simply because I chose to worship God through Christianity and preached it. I could not understand what worshipping God had to do with the term national security. After spending 10 days in solitary confinement and enduring all the humiliations from interrogators, I was given the opportunity for a one-minute conversation, even then under the supervision of an interrogator, with my family. They wanted to make me an example of a lesson for other believers like me.”

While expressing the severe deterioration of his son’s physical condition, he added: “Amidst surprise and disbelief, the appeals court and the Supreme Court, without paying attention to the issues I raised, confirmed my sentence! Now that I have spent 3 years in prison for the sentence issued, I still do not know how, by being a follower of Christ, I was able to act against the national security of Iran.”

He concluded his letter as follows: “This is Iran, and in the 21st century, I am a prisoner in the hands of enemies of my homeland.”

His son Amir Ali died on December 29, 2021, at the age of 18 due to a severe physical illness, and Mr. Akbari was unable to attend his son’s funeral in time due to prison administrative procedures and a bail request of 150 million tomans. He was released on a 5-day furlough from prison so he could be present at his son’s grave on the third day of his death.

The expression of belief and peaceful religious activity, which is supposedly free in Iran, has forced the government to imprison citizens and subject their families to pressure, harassment, and persecution.