Two Iranian Christians sentenced to prison for their faith were locked up on December 16 and 20, and a Christian woman was summoned two days before Christmas to complete her five-year sentence, an advocacy group announced.
Nayere al-Jaaneh, who was arrested with her husband at their home in Garmsar on July 7th, was found guilty of “promoting deviant propaganda and teachings contrary to Islamic law,” or practicing and expressing faith, according to the Iranian religious rights group Article 18, and began serving her sentence in Semnan Prison on December 23rd.
“Mr. Naere was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison, but under Iranian law only the most severe sentence, in this case five years in prison, is enforceable,” Article 18 said in a press statement.
The group said Arjaneh was among a group of Christian converts arrested after attending a seminar in Turkey in 2025. According to Article 18, she was sentenced to five years’ unconditional imprisonment, a fine of 165 million tomans ($1,500), two years of internal exile in Koubanan, Kerman province, a 10-hour drive from her home, and a two-year travel ban.
Mr. Arjaneh was also sentenced to an additional five years in prison and a fine of 60 million tomans ($500) for “providing financial and material support to Zionist Christian-related organizations.” Farshid Safdari, a judge from the Islamic Revolutionary Court branch in Garmsar, who handed down the sentence, acquitted her of the charge of “insulting religious sanctity”.
According to Article 18, her husband, Qassem Esmaili, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, but the sentence has not yet been served as he continues to undergo chemotherapy for cancer.
Arjaneh was previously sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence in 2022 for his Christian activities.
The group noted that because Christian converts in Iran are not allowed to have places of worship, build churches, or establish Christian centers, some travel to neighboring countries to attend church services or receive Christian religious teachings.
After his arrest, Arjaneh was detained for nearly 40 days and was initially released on bail of 500 million tomans ($4,000). However, on October 7, she was summoned for questioning and held for three days until her bail was increased to 2 billion tomans (more than $15,000).
“She was subsequently granted temporary bail for the second time,” Article 18 reported. “While in custody, Mr. Neele was subjected to psychological torture, including threats of execution.”
imprisoned brother
Two brothers arrested at a Christmas gathering four years ago have begun serving four-year sentences at Dastgard Prison in Isfahan. Reports were made in Article 18 by Mahmoud Mardani-Kharaj on December 16th and by Mansour Mardani-Kharaj on December 20th.
The two converts, both in their 50s, will be expelled from their home province of Isfahan for two years and banned from membership in any organization for five years. They were also each fined the equivalent of about $1,500.
They were convicted under Article 500 of the Amendment, which criminalizes “deviant propaganda activities contrary to the sacred religion of Islam.” Charges against two other Christians arrested with them were dropped anonymously for security reasons.
temporarily released
Another Christian convert, Aida Najahrour, was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison on December 21 due to concerns about the risk of paralysis after falling from a prison bunk and breaking her spine, Article 18 states.
Pending the outcome of her appeal against her 17-year sentence, 44-year-old Najahlou was released on bail worth more than $75,000, Article 18 said, citing a post on X by her lawyer Saideh Hosseinzadeh. She had expressed serious concerns about the risk of severing Najaflou’s spinal cord.
Najaflou, a mother of two, underwent surgery after her injuries on October 31st, but upon her return to prison she had not fully recovered and her condition worsened. Since her arrest in February, she has been sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for crimes related to her Christian activities, but according to Article 18, she only has to serve the longest of the three sentences, 10 years.
Her case, along with those of four others – Iranian-Armenian Joseph and Rida Shabazian, Christian convert Nasser Navald Gol Tapeh and another anonymous individual – was heard in Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by the notorious judge Abolkasem Salavati, Article 18 states. The charges against them included “acts against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”
The group said the prison sentences were based on their Christian faith and peaceful religious activities such as founding house churches, holding prayer meetings and celebrating Christmas.
Iran has been ranked ninth among the 50 countries in which it is most difficult to become a Christian on Christian advocacy group Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List (WWL). The report noted that despite persecution, “the Church in Iran is growing steadily.”
