HRANA – Five Christian converts, four of whom have been identified as Aida Najaflou, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, Joseph Shahbazian, and Lida Alek-Sani, have been sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to a total of 55 years in prison.
According to Article 18, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Joseph Shahbazian were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Lida Alek-Sani received eight years. Aida Najaflou was sentenced to a total of 17 years by the same court.
Article 18 did not provide further details regarding the identity of the fifth Christian convert but stated that this individual has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison in this case.
The first hearing for the charges against Aida Najaflou, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, and Joseph Shahbazian was held on September 6 at Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Abolghasem Salavati. These Christian converts defended themselves against the charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “acting against national security.” The second hearing took place on October 21 at the same branch.
The indictment for this case was issued on June 10, 2025 by the Evin Prosecutor’s Office. In the prosecutor’s final decision, activities such as establishing, operating, and leading a house church, holding evangelical Christian gatherings, and performing religious rites such as water baptism and communion were cited as examples of the alleged offenses.
On May 13 of this year, Lida Alek-Sani was released from Evin Prison on bail. She had been arrested in April at her home by Ministry of Intelligence agents.
On April 13 of this year, Aida Najaflou was transferred from The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison, to the women’s ward of the same prison, where she remains in custody. Her arrest took place on February 6, 2025, by security forces.
Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Joseph Shahbazian, who were arrested on the same date and transferred to Evin Prison, also remain detained there.
Both Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Joseph Shahbazian, Christian converts residing in Tehran, have previously been arrested and imprisoned for their religious activities.
Based on about 180 reports compiled by HRANA over the past decade, 11% of all victims of religious minority rights violations by Iran’s security-judicial apparatus were Christians, particularly Christian converts. In 2024 alone, Christians made up over 9% of those targeted.
