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Evin prison

• Overseas Conversion Leads to Prison Sentence

  

  For some time, an Iranian woman named Laleh Saati lived in Malaysia and, while there, she was baptized as a Christian. Not wanting to return to Iran, Laleh applied for asylum, but the process continued to drag on without resolution. Frustrated with the delay, as well as missing her elderly parents, she returned to Iran in 2017.

• Christian Couple Acquitted

  

  Homayoun Zhaveh, a 64-year-old Christian with advanced Parkinson's disease, and his wife, Sara Ahmadi, have thankfully been acquitted by an Iranian court and released from prison. On April 9th, it was reported that their application for a retrial had been accepted. (See this previously posted report for further information on their case.)On May 9th, the appeal court judge found no evidence that either of these Christians had acted against national security, as initially accused.

• Retrial Ordered for Sara and Homayoun

  

  Sara Ahmadi and Homayoun Zhaveh, a Christian couple who had been detained since last August, were informed on April 9th that their third application for a retrial was accepted by Iran's Supreme Court. The first two applications, both filed in 2021, were rejected.

• Christian Woman Now Facing Two-Year Sentence

  

  In July 2021, Fariba Dalir was arrested along with five other Christian converts, including her husband-to-be, Soroush. While awaiting trial, all six believers were ultimately released on bail – Fariba on November 18th and the others in October. While out on bail, Fariba and Soroush were married.

• Prison Sentence to be Reviewed by the Supreme Court

  

  On June 24th of 2016, 30 intelligence police agents raided an engagement party near Tehran, Iran. Everyone who attended the celebration was detained, including three visiting Christians from Azerbaijan. Most were released from custody, except for the three Azeri believers and Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, whom the authorities considered the leader of the Christian gathering. For more details on this raid, go to this page.

• Christians Ordered to Prison

  

  Christian converts Homayoun Zhaveh and his wife Sara Ahmadi were on holidays with friends when they were arrested by Iranian intelligence officials. As a result of their house church activities, Homayoun was sentenced to two years in prison while Sara received a sentence of eight years. At last report, they were awaiting an order to report to prison. More details are available here.

• Imprisoned for Not Denying Christ

  

  Fatemeh Bakhteri has begun a one-year prison sentence in the infamous Evin Prison because she refuses to renounce her faith in Christ. Fatemeh (also known as Ailar) was first informed of her sentence for "acting against national security" in September 2018.

  In an appeal hearing this past January, Fatemeh and co-defendant Saheb Fadaie were pressured by presiding judges to renounce their faith, which they refused to do. The decision upholding the verdict was announced in May, and Fatemeh presented herself to the prison in Tehran on August 31st. Saheb was already serving a ten-year sentence for his work in establishing a house church. To learn more about the persecution of Christians in Iran, go to our country report.

• Christian Prisoner Conditionally Released

  

  Despite being a member of the Armenian Orthodox Church, which is permitted in Iran due to its long history, Sevada Aghasar has faced numerous challenges for his faith. After being initially arrested in August 2013, but never officially charged, he served six months in prison (see this report).

  Then, in April 2015, Sevada was sentenced to five years in prison for "acting against national security through house-church activities" (read more). He began serving this sentence two years ago after losing his appeal.