Three Christians Sentenced to Total of 15 Years Imprisonment and Financial Penalties

Amin Khaki, Milad Goodarzi, and Alireza Normohammadi, three Christians, have each been sentenced by Branch 4 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court to five years imprisonment and a fine of 40 million tomans.

According to Hrana news agency, citing Article 18, Amin Khaki, Milad Goodarzi, and Alireza Normohammadi have collectively been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and financial penalties.

Based on a ruling issued by Branch 4 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court and announced to them on Saturday, Tir 5, each of these citizens was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of 40 million tomans for the charge of “deviation-oriented propaganda and educational activities contrary to Islamic Sharia.”

These Christian citizens were released on bail of 250 million tomans each in November 2020 after being summoned to judicial authorities and having cases filed against them.

It should be noted that although Christians are officially recognized as a religious minority under law, security agencies pursue the issue of Muslims converting to Christianity with particular sensitivity and deal forcefully with activists in this field.

The treatment of Christians in Iran occurs 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 the right to change religion according to conviction, as well as freedom to express that belief individually or collectively, publicly or privately.

Source: Hrana