Christian Convert Reza Zaeemi’s Prison Sentence Reduced to Nine Months by Appeal Court

The sentence of Reza Zaeemi, a Christian convert, was reduced by the Alborz Court of Appeals to 9 months in prison and a two-year ban from leaving the country. 40-year-old Zaeemi was sentenced by the Karaj Revolutionary Court to one year and six months in prison and a two-year ban from leaving the country in early February.

According to the HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Article 18, Reza Zaeemi was sentenced by the Alborz province court of appeals to nine months in prison and a two-year ban from leaving the country, a significant reduction from his previous sentence.

In January 2021, Mr. Zaeemi was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and a two-year prohibition of leaving the country by Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj, presided by Judge Shabani. Mr. Zaeemi was charged with propaganda against the regime through propagation of evangelical Christianity.

Zaeemi was arrested in November 2020 by undercover forces near his residence  in Karaj. He was transferred to an IRGC intelligence detention center from an unknown location, four hours later, and denied access to a phone for the eight day duration of his detention, during which time his home was searched by security forces.

After ten days, Zaeemi was transferred from the IRGC Intelligence Detention Center to Ghezel Hesar Penitentiary by the order of the Judge of the Revolutionary Public Prosecutor’s Office in Karaj and was released on bail of 60 million Tomans after one week.

Reza Zaeemi is a Christian convert from Karaj.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *