A Christian convert in Iran has been sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison on trumped-up charges linked to state security and anti-government activity, after her Bible and Christian books were seized during a raid on her Tehran home in January.
Former prisoner of conscience Ghazal Marzban was sentenced on charges including propaganda against the state and collusion against national security, reported Article18, a UK-based organisation that monitors religious freedom in Iran.
The sentence was issued by Revolutionary Court Judge Iman Afshari.
He was recently sanctioned by the European Union and has issued harsh sentences against political prisoners, including Christians.
IRANIAN CHRISTIAN WOMAN FIRST ARRESTED IN 2024
Ghazal Marzban was first arrested in November 2024 after protesting against harassment that followed her conversion to Catholicism seven years earlier.
After her conversion, the Islamic law graduate, was barred from taking her bar examination and pressured to leave Iran.
She spent two months in the notorious Evin Prison after being convicted of propaganda against the regime by chanting slogans.
Her husband, also a convert, has been unable to obtain medication needed to manage his Parkinson’s disease.
CHRISTIAN CONVERT TAKEN TO UNDISCLOSED LOCATION WITHOUT EXPLANATION
She was rearrested in January,
Her Bible and other Christian books were confiscated, and she was taken to an undisclosed location without an explanation for the arrest.
Two hours after the arrest, MS. Marzban called her husband and said she was being held at a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre.
She then had no contact with her family for the next month.
ACCUSED CHRISTIAN DENIED HER BIBLE AND BOOKS WERE USED FOR EVANGELISING
During her interrogation, Ms. Marzban was pressed to admit that her Bible and Christian literature had been used for evangelising.
She denied the claim and said the material was for personal use, adding that as a Christian she had the right to possess it.
Mansour Borji, Article18’s executive director, said her sentence was in reality a sentence imposed on both spouses because of her husband’s need for medical care and her inability to be a carer while she’s locked up in prison.
Her arrest came just days after thousands of protesters were killed — some unconfirmed reports say tens of thousands — including many Christians, during a crackdown on anti-government protests.
HARSH SENTENCES FOR FIVE CHRISTIANS IN DECEMBER
In December, five Iranian Christians received prison sentences totaling 50 years after convictions tied to prayer gatherings, baptisms and Bible distribution under amended penal code provisions enforced by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.
Judge Abolqasem Salavati issued 10-year terms to four defendants and an eight-year sentence to another.
One woman also received two extra years linked to social media activity.
Authorities accused the group of collusion and propaganda against the state.
They delayed formal notice of the verdicts for weeks after hearings and allowed only 20 days for appeals before the same court.
HUGE BAIL DEMANDS FOR PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS, POOR MEDICAL CARE IN PRISON
Two defendants had previously served prison terms connected to house church activity.
Authorities demanded bail amounts reaching about A$180,000 and nearly A$350,000 in separate cases.
One prisoner with rheumatoid arthritis fractured her spine after falling from a bunk while in custody.
She returned from the hospital without full treatment and later developed infections that required additional medical care.
IRANIAN AUTHORITIES HAND OUT EXTREME PENALTIES TO CHRISTIANS
Iranian authorities restrict religious freedom and impose arrests, long prison terms and harsh treatment on Christians, especially converts from Islam, because officials treat their faith activity as a state security threat.
Court documents referred to a 2010 speech by then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that cast house churches as a national security threat.
Officials confiscated Christian texts and Bibles from the defendants and sent the material to the Ministry of Intelligence for review during legal proceedings.
CHRISTIANS CAUGHT UP IN PROTESTS CRUSHED BY IRANIAN REGIME
Street protests first erupted in Iran on December 28 amid economic pressure and public anger toward the country’s leadership.
The demonstrations spread to more than 100 cities and towns in all provinces with Christians involved in many of them.
The regime prevailed in crushing the uprising at the cost of a huge number of lives.
Official human rights organisations verified around 6,000 deaths. Others claimed the toll was six to ten times that figure.
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