15-year prison sentence for Christian citizen Yasin Mousavi
Christian citizen Yasin Mousavi was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court.
According to published reports, Yasin Mousavi, a Christian believer, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Third Branch of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court, headed by Mehdi Fathinia, on charges of “membership in groups that intend to disrupt security” and “propaganda against the regime by promoting Zionist Christianity.” He was sentenced to 10 years for the first charge and 5 years for the second charge, charges that are listed under the heading of security.
Yasin Mousavi was arrested in October 2017 and held in Sheyban Security Prison for 3 months and in Farvardin 2011 for 3 months. He was also arrested in Izeh city during the nationwide protests in November 2012 and spent some time in prison. According to some unofficial sources, it is stated in the text of Yasin Mousavi’s indictment that he played an active role in the nationwide protests of 2012 and was one of the ringleaders of the Ilam Christian Organization in Khuzestan Province.
He was arrested again on January 23, 1402 in the city of Izeh along with several other Christian citizens, including Esmaeil Narimanpour, and after enduring 20 days of solitary confinement at the Ministry of Intelligence, he was transferred to the Sheiban Security Prison in Ahvaz and was detained for 5 months. Finally, on May 11, 1403, he was temporarily released on bail of two billion Tomans until the trial. In a court session held on June 7, he was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison.
In addition to the sentence issued against him, other Christians who were arrested in the city of Izeh last year were also tried in court. According to published reports, Hamid Afzali was sentenced to 10 years in prison on security charges, Nasrollah Mousavi and Bijan Gholizadeh were sentenced to 5 years each, Zohrab Shahbazi to 9 months, and Iman Salehi to 5 years. Others, whose identities have been withheld, were each sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Since the conversion of Muslims to Christianity is not recognized by the judicial system, they are treated with extreme sensitivity and violence. Severe treatment and heavy sentences are issued for them, while 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, either individually or in community with others and in public or under persecution.
