Three Christian Citizens Arrested in Nowshahr with No Information on Their Status
Three Christian citizens were arrested in Nowshahr, and after three weeks have passed, there is no information about their status.
Security forces raided the homes of three Christian citizens named “Jahangir Alikani,” “Hamed Malamiri,” and “Ghollam Eshaghi” in the first week of Mehr (September) and arrested them, but after three weeks, no information about their status and place of detention is available.
According to reports published by an informed source, after attacking the homes of these citizens, the officers proceeded to overturn all furniture and conduct a complete search of the house, or as some would say, ransacked it. The families of these citizens remain uninformed about their status despite multiple follow-ups. It should be noted that these individuals are also deprived of contact with a lawyer.
Jahangir Alikani, Hamed Malamiri, and Ghollam Eshaghi are among 20 Christian citizens who were arrested last year around Christmas time in Nowshahr and the Chalus area when security officers coordinated raids on their homes. During their arrest, the officers filmed their homes and confiscated Bibles and other Christian-related books.
Some Christian citizens arrested last year were released the same day after interrogation, but approximately 9 people, including the aforementioned individuals, were transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Sari, where the prosecutor of the Nowshahr Public and Revolutionary Court had a brief meeting with them but did not formally announce the reason for their detention.
They were then interrogated for periods lasting 2 to 5 weeks, charged with “establishing house churches,” “promoting Christianity,” and “following a religion contrary to the sacred religion of Islam.” After several weeks, in addition to a ban on leaving Iran for 6 months, they were released on bail.
Also according to published reports, starting from May 19, 2024 (29 Ordibehesht, 1403), some families of the detained individuals were contacted and summoned informally. After being summoned, these families were subjected to lengthy interrogations and severe pressure by Ministry of Intelligence interrogators. These citizens were severely insulted and humiliated during the interrogations, and in one instance were beaten.
Intelligence Ministry interrogators attempted to coerce these citizens into forced confessions regarding connections with foreign countries or Christian organizations outside the country through threats and intimidation. In September (Shahrivar) of this year, 4 Christian citizens received a summons to appear at the first division of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Nowshahr County to present their final defense regarding charges of “cooperation with hostile foreign governments against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” “propaganda against the Islamic Republic system,” and “insulting the pure religion of Islam and its sanctities through publications.”
Now that the aforementioned citizens were awaiting the results of their trial, Jahangir Alikani, Hamed Malamiri, and Ghollam Eshaghi have been arrested again by Ministry of Intelligence officers.
It appears that the Islamic Republic government intends to intimidate other citizens again around the New Year and Christmas by arresting these individuals so they cannot conduct Christmas and New Year celebrations.
