Arrest of Nasser Nordgoltepe and Joseph Shahbazian
"Nasser Nordgoltepe" and "Joseph Shahbazian", Christian citizens and former prisoners of conscience, were arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence.
According to published reports, on Thursday, February 8, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence raided the homes of Christian citizens Nasser Nordgoltepe and Joseph Shahbazian in Tehran and, after arresting them, transferred them to Evin Prison.
They remain in detention, and Mr. Goltepe has gone on a hunger strike to protest the illegality of his detention. In addition to their arrest, a number of other Christians have also been arrested and are being held in Tehran at the same time, but their identities are still unknown, and no specific charges have been filed for their arrest.
Mr. Shahbazian, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for peaceful religious activity, after his sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court in Esfand 1401, the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal in Khordad 1402 reduced the verdict issued by the lower court from 10 years to 2 years. He spent about two years in Evin Prison, before finally being released in Shahrivar last year (1402), and prison authorities stated that he had been pardoned.
The charge against him was "acting against national security through membership, management, and formation of a Christian missionary house church and creating a group with the aim of disrupting the security of the country," while according to the Islamic Republic government, Christians, including Armenians and Assyrians, in Iran enjoy freedom of religion and religious ceremonies, but if they share their faith with Persian-speaking Christians, they will be severely repressed.
Mr. Goltepe, who had been sentenced to ten years in prison since 2017 on charges of "establishing and running a house church," was released from prison in October 2022 after serving about five years of his sentence. After repeatedly opposing the reduction of his sentence, he was finally granted conditional release after serving five years of his sentence.
Human rights organizations have also repeatedly expressed concern about Nasser Goltape's health condition in prison and called for his release.
