(Article18) — An Iranian-Armenian pastor has today begun serving a 10-year prison sentence for holding church services in his home. Joseph Shahbazian, who is 58 years old, was yesterday given 24 hours to hand himself in to the authorities at Tehran’s Evin Prison, and did so today at around midday, Iranian time. Meanwhile, a Christian […]

(Article18) — An Iranian Christian with advanced Parkinson’s disease and his wife have been detained in Tehran. Homayoun Zhaveh, who is about to celebrate his 64th birthday, and Sara Ahmadi, 44, answered a summons to an administrative office of Evin Prison on Saturday, expecting to receive back their confiscated property. However, they were instead surprisingly […]

(Article 18) — A Christian convert from Karaj, near Tehran, has been arrested and remains in detention on unknown charges. Mohammad Golbaz, 34, was arrested at his motorcycle repair shop on Saturday, July 30 by more than a dozen plainclothes intelligence agents. He was then transferred to an unknown location and held incommunicado until finally […]

NEYSHABUR, Iran (Article18) — A grandfather in his late fifties who has cancer is one of four Christian converts still detained more than three weeks after their arrest at a house-church gathering in a conservative Shia Muslim region of northeast Iran. Gholamreza Keyvanmanesh is being held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, a holy city for […]

(Article18) — Three house-church members who have been held for over a month in solitary confinement have now been informed that their appeals against five-year prison sentences have been rejected. Ahmad Sarparast, Morteza Mashoodkari, and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh, all members of the “Church of Iran” in Rasht, were re-arrested early last month, despite already facing imprisonment […]

(Article 18) — A Protestant Church-owned retreat center appropriated four years ago by an institution headed by Iran’s Supreme Leader is now in the process of being repurposed, Article18 understands. The Garden of Sharon in Karaj, which has belonged to the Iranian Assemblies of God (AoG) denomination since the early 1970s, has been out of […]

(Article18) — Four “Church of Iran” members already facing criminal charges relating to the practice of their faith, with two having spent over two years in prison, were re-arrested last night, while a fifth was ordered to hand himself in today. Behnam Akhlaghi, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Ahmad Sarparast, and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh were arrested at their homes […]

(Article 18) — An Iranian news agency linked to the Revolutionary Guard Corps has reported the arrest of a “network” of Christians in “several provinces” for “creating moral deviations” and “promoting [religious] conversion.” According to the report, published by Fars News Agency on Saturday, the “Zionist” group was “dismantled” in a coordinated operation, though there […]

(Article18) — Iran has denied systematically persecuting Christians, in response to a formal enquiry by six senior UN rights experts. In a letter dated Nov. 11 but only made public after Iran failed to respond within the 60-day deadline, the experts – including the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, and […]

(Article18) — There are renewed fears over a parliamentary bill that threatens to facilitate the further repression of Iran’s religious minorities. … The bill proposes additions to articles 499 and 500 of the Islamic Penal Code — already two of the most commonly used laws in cases against Christians — which would provide law enforcers […]