Long Prison Sentence Issued for ‘Gazal Marzban,’ Christian Citizen, Following Religious Freedom Violations

The issuance of a harsh prison sentence for ‘Gazal Marzban,’ an imprisoned Christian citizen at Evin Prison, has once again brought the case of systematic pressure by the Islamic Republic against religious and gender minorities into focus; this comes at a time when Iran is considered a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights regarding freedom of religion and belief, yet security and judicial institutions continue to respond to religious conversion and religious activity with security charges.

The issuance of a harsh prison sentence for Gazal Marzban, a Christian citizen imprisoned at Evin, has sparked a fresh wave of criticism regarding freedom of conscience and the Islamic Republic’s treatment of religious minorities; a case that, according to human rights observers, once again reveals the apparent contradiction between the Islamic Republic’s international commitments and the performance of Iran’s security and judicial apparatus.

According to reports published by human rights organizations, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Iman Afshari, has sentenced Gazal Marzban to 9 years in prison on charges including ‘propaganda against the state’ and ‘assembly and conspiracy against national security.’

International human rights media outlets had previously reported that this Christian citizen faced security file fabrication and judicial pressure following her arrest. The human rights organization ‘Hengaw’ reported that she suffered severe rib injuries during her arrest in Tehran and was subsequently transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.

According to these reports, Islamic Republic security officials used physical violence during Gazal Marzban’s arrest; an issue that has been repeatedly documented in recent years in the cases of civil activists, protesters, and citizens belonging to religious minorities in Iran.

Gazal Marzban, who converted to Catholicism, has not faced pressure solely because of her religious beliefs. She and her husband, ‘Amirhossein Saeedinesab,’ are both transgender individuals who, over the past years, have raised awareness about the widespread problems facing the transgender community in Iran, including difficulties in accessing medical services and security pressures.

This issue has led many human rights activists to view the case of this couple as an example of ‘multilayered pressure’ by the Islamic Republic against religious minorities, gender minorities, and civil critics.

In recent years, international bodies have repeatedly warned about increased pressure on Christians in Iran. Reports published by Article18, Open Doors, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide show that the number of arrests of Christian citizens in Iran has increased noticeably in recent years, with many facing security charges, heavy prison sentences, and social deprivation.

According to these reports, the Iranian government, in many cases, treats religious activities, participation in house churches, or even possession of the Bible as instances of ‘propaganda against the state’ or ‘actions against national security’; charges that, according to human rights organizations, are effectively used to suppress freedom of conscience.

This is while the Islamic Republic is a signatory to the ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’; a covenant that explicitly emphasizes in Article 18 the right to freedom of religion, change of religion, and practice of religious rites. However, multiple international reports show that the Iranian government not only does not recognize religious conversion, but also confronts citizens who convert from Islam to Christianity with arrest, imprisonment, and security pressure.

Critics of the Islamic Republic say that the repeated use of revolutionary courts and judges such as Iman Afshari to issue harsh sentences against ideological citizens demonstrates that Iran’s judicial structure, instead of protecting citizens’ fundamental rights, serves the purpose of suppressing dissent.

The case of Gazal Marzban has also drawn attention once again to the situation at Evin Prison; a prison whose name has been repeatedly mentioned in human rights organizations’ reports over the past decades as a symbol of detention of political opponents, civil activists, and ideological prisoners.

Human rights activists believe that the continued detention and issuance of harsh sentences against Christian citizens is not only a blatant violation of the Islamic Republic’s international commitments, but also a sign of the continuation of a policy of elimination and intimidation against minorities who refuse to live according to the government’s official interpretation of religion and identity.