(Article 18) — Lydia was just three months old when she was adopted by Iranian Christian converts Sam Khosravi and wife Maryam Falahi. Now, just one month before her second birthday, a court has ruled she must be taken away from them, as Sam and Maryam – who are currently appealing against convictions related to […]

(Article18) — Three Iranian Christian converts whose appeals against a combined 35 years in prison were recently rejected want to let their supporters know they are safe and well outside the country. The cases against Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, Hadi Asgari and Amin Afshar-Naderi were tied up with those against the Iranian-Assyrian pastor Victor-Bet Tamraz and his […]

(Article18) — Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian has been released on bail after nearly two months in detention. The 56-year-old was one of dozens of Christians arrested by Revolutionary Guards in a coordinated operation targeting homes and house-churches in Tehran, Karaj and Malayer on June 30 and July 1. Last week Joseph’s family were finally able […]

(Article18) — Iranian Christian convert Mohammadreza (Youhan) Omidi has been released from prison after completing his reduced two-year sentence for “acting against national security by organizing house-churches and promoting ‘Zionist’ Christianity.” Youhan, who is 47 years old, was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison at lunchtime today, and will tomorrow travel home to the northern city […]

(Article18) — An Iranian-Assyrian couple sentenced to a combined 15 years in prison for teaching Muslim converts about Christianity have finally been informed that their longstanding appeals have failed. It’s been more than three years since Victor Bet-Tamraz was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in July 2017, and over two and a half years […]

(Article18) — Four Iranian Christian converts have received prison sentences of between two and five years for “acting against national security” by belonging to a house-church and “spreading Zionist Christianity”. Ramin Hassanpour was given a five-year sentence, Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi four years, while there were two-year sentences for Sakine (Mehri) Behjati and Ramin’s wife Saeede […]

(Article18) — The family of an Iranian-Armenian house church leader who remains in detention more than three weeks after his arrest has been told they must deposit 3 billion tomans (around $150,000) for his bail. This is twice the previous highest amount demanded to secure the release of a Christian prisoner of conscience. Joseph Shahbazian, […]

 (Article18) — Iranian Christian convert Ismaeil Maghrebinejad has lost his appeal against the two remaining prison sentences issued to him earlier this year. Ismaeil, who is 65 years old and an official member of the Anglican Church, initially received three sentences amounting to a total of six years in prison. Ismaeil was informed last […]

(Article18) — At least 10 of the more than a dozen Christian converts arrested two weeks ago in raids on their homes and house-churches have been charged with “acting against national security by promoting Zionist Christianity.” Article18 reported earlier this month that at least 13 Christians were arrested in a coordinated operation on the evening […]

(Article18) — Sixty-five-year-old Iranian Christian convert Ismaeil Maghrebinejad has had his three-year jail sentence for “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs” overturned on appeal. Ismaeil was informed of the verdict yesterday by his lawyer, Farshid Roofoogaran. In the verdict, dated 5 July, the judge at the 17th Branch of the appeal court in Shiraz, Jamshid Kashkouli, accepted […]