Tag: Abbas Soori

Appeals Court; 3 Christian Converts Sentenced to Over 41 Years in Prison and Other Punishments

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News, Religious Minorities
Abbas Soori, Christian converts, Mehran Shamlooei, Narges Nasri, Tehran, عباس سوری, مهران شاملویی, نرگس نصری

HRANA News Agency – Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of Mehran Shamlooei, Abbas Soori, and Narges Nasri, Christian converts residing in Tehran.

On April 22, 2025, Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court upheld the lower court’s ruling. In the first instance, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had sentenced the three to a total of 41 years and 8 months of imprisonment, 41 years of deprivation of social rights, and a total fine of 910 million tomans.

Details of individual sentences:

  • Abbas Soori received 10 years in prison for “propaganda against Islamic law,” a 15-year ban from social rights, a 330-million-toman fine, and 5 years in prison for “membership in anti-regime groups.” As additional punishment, the court banned him from leaving the country, living in Tehran Province or neighboring provinces, and joining political or social groups for two years.

  • Mehran Shamlooei received 8 years in prison for “propaganda against Islamic law,” a 250-million-toman fine, an 11-year ban from social rights, and 2 years and 8 months in prison for “membership in anti-government groups.”

  • Narges Nasri was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “propaganda against Islamic law due to extensive and impactful contact with foreign entities” (with one degree of sentence enhancement), a 15-year ban from social rights, a 330-million-toman fine, 5 years in prison for “membership in anti-government groups,” and 1 year in prison for “propaganda against the regime.” Additionally, the court banned her for two years from leaving the country, residing in Tehran Province or neighboring provinces, and joining political or social groups.

The trial for their case took place on February 13, 2025, at the mentioned court branch.

Security forces arrested Mehran Shamlooei, Abbas Soori, and Narges Nasri on November 1, 2024, for establishing a house church in Tehran. They transferred them to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Authorities later released them from Evin on December 1, 2024, after posting bail.

Narges Nasri, aged about 38, along with Mehran Shamlooei, aged 43, and Abbas Soori, are all residents of Tehran.

Christian Converts Mehran Shamlooei and Abbas Soori Sentenced to Over 25 Years in Prison

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News, Religious Minorities
Abbas Soori, Christian converts, Iman Afshari, Mehran Shamlooei

HRANA News Agency – Mehran Shamlooei and Abbas Soori, Christian converts residing in Tehran, have been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to a total of 25 years and eight months in prison, 30 years of social deprivation, fines, and additional penalties.

Based on the verdict issued yesterday by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, Shamlooei and Soori were found guilty of “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law due to their connections abroad and the extensive depth of their criminal acts” (with an increased degree of severity) and “membership in groups opposing the state.” Their sentences include:

A total of 25 years and 8 months in prison
30 years of deprivation of social rights
A fine of 580 million tomans (approximately 7,250 USD)

Sentences in Detail:

Abbas Soori was sentenced to:

10 years in prison for “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law”
5 years in prison for “membership in groups opposing the state”
15 years of social deprivation
A fine of 330 million tomans (approximately 6,500 USD)
Additional penalties, including a travel ban, a ban on residing in Tehran and neighboring provinces, and a ban on membership in social groups for two years.

Mehran Shamlooei was sentenced to:

8 years in prison for “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law”
2 years and 8 months in prison for “membership in groups opposing the state”
15 years of social deprivation
A fine of 250 million tomans (approximately 4,120 USD)

The trial took place on February 13, 2025, and the interrogation sessions were held in December at Branch 3 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran.

Shamlooei and Soori were arrested on November 1 by Ministry of Intelligence agents for organizing a house church in Tehran. They were transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence, where they were interrogated daily. On December 2, they were released on bail of 2 billion tomans (approximately 25,000 USD) each.

Mehran Shamlooei is a 43-year-old Christian convert, and Abbas Soori is also a Christian convert residing in Tehran.

Convictions against Three Christians Upheld on Appeal

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News, Religious Minorities
Abbas Soori, Anoushavan Avodian, Iman Soleimani, Iranian Christians, Maryam Mohammadi

The Court of Appeals upheld a ten-year prison sentence and other convictions against Christian Citizen Anoushavan Avodian. Additionally, in this legal case, two other Christian converts, Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi had been fined 50 million tomans, which all were upheld on appeal.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Article 18, the convictions against three Iranian Christians were upheld by the Court of Appeals.

In May of 2022, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Afshari, sentenced Anoushavan Avodian to 10 years in prison, paying a fine and restrictions of rights for 10 years. Two other defendants of this case, Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi were fined 50 million tomans, prohibited from membership in political groups, banned from leaving the country, and residing in Tehran Province and neighboring provinces. Also, they were ordered to appear once every three weeks at the Supervision and Follow Up office of the Judiciary for two years.

The above individuals have been convicted on the charge of “organizing and running evangelical “Zionist” home church with the intention to act against national security,” and, ” owning satellite dish and receivers.”

Their Attorney Iman Soleimani told HRANA: “All arguments provided by the defense lawyer in the court have been ignored and the verdict was issued based on the judicial officers’ workflow.”

The prosecution of Christian converts stands in blatant violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which state that every individual has the right to freedom of religion and belief and freedom to express it openly or secretly.

Three Iranian Christians Sentenced to Imprisonment

Posted on by A MN
News, Religious Minorities
Abbas Soori, Anoushavan Avodian, Christian Citizen, home church, Maryam Mohammadi

Recently the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Christian Citizen Anoushavan Avodian to 10 years imprisonment, a fine and additional social restrictions. In this legal case, two other Christian converts, Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi were fined 50 million tomans and sentenced to additional social restrictions.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Anoushavan Avodian, Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi to imprisonment, fines and other social restrictions.

According to the verdict issued by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Afshari, Anoushavan Avodian was sentenced to 10 years in prison, paying a fine and restrictions of rights for 10 years. Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi were fined 50 million tomans, prohibited from membership in political groups, and banned from leaving the country and residing in Tehran Province and neighboring provinces. Also, they are ordered to appear once every three weeks at the Supervision and Follow-up office of the Judiciary for two years.

The above individuals have been convicted on the charge of “organizing and running evangelical “Zionist” home church with the intention to act against national security,” and ” maintaining satellite dish and receivers.”

Their Attorney Iman Soleimani told HRANA: “All arguments provided by the defence lawyer in the court have been ignored and the verdict has been issued based on the judicial officers’ workflow.”

The prosecution of Christian converts stands in blatant violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which state that every individual has the right to freedom of religion and belief and freedom to express it openly or secretly.