A Christian convert who recently broke his spine after falling from a bunk in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for crimes related to his religious practices, according to human rights groups.
According to the human rights organization Article 18, Aida Najahrou is one of five Iranian Christians sentenced to a total of more than 50 years in prison in an Oct. 21 verdict, which was not announced until late November or early December.
Najaful, 44, was sentenced to 10 years in prison under Article 500 of Iran’s revised penal code (which includes the “anti-security” law, which is triggered against ordinary religious acts), an additional five years in prison for “gathering and collusion” and two years in prison for “propaganda” related to social media posts, Article 18 reported.
“The verdict was handed down by the notorious judge Abolkasem Salavati after the second trial held on October 21 at Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, but was only delivered orally within the past two weeks,” the group said.
According to Article 18, Najahlou suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and was hospitalized for the second time after a recent spinal surgery in prison caused an infection.
“Her lawyer posted on Sunday (December 7) on X that she was concerned about her client’s long-term health as her condition was at risk of spinal cord injury if not properly managed,” the organization said.
The women’s committee of the human rights organization National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI) reported that under Iran’s cumulative criminal law, she faces a mandatory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“Aida Najahr’s health condition is critical and she is at risk of complete paralysis due to a spinal cord injury,” the NCRI said in a statement. “After falling out of bed and undergoing spinal surgery, her condition deteriorated rapidly.”
Two of those sentenced were Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shabazian and convert to Christianity Nasser Navald Gol Tapeh. According to Article 18, both men were re-arrested in February after serving a total of six years in prison on charges related to their involvement in house churches.
The other two were Shahbazian’s wife, Lida, and a third woman, whose name has not been released. All of the Christians except Rida were sentenced to 10 years in prison under Article 500 of the Amendment, and at least two others, including Najaflou, received an additional five years in prison for the second “assembly and conspiracy” charge, Article 18 reported.
The group said Lida was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The Christians were expected to appeal. According to Article 18, their personal property, including Bibles and other Christian literature, was confiscated for “research” purposes by the Ministry of Information.
Mansour Borji, head of Article 18, said their trial had “many features indicating a lack of due process”, including long detentions and excessive bail demands. Mr. Shahbazian, Mr. Najaful and Mr. Gol Tapeh were detained for seven months before appearing in court.
Borge said that despite misleading communications to the family in this regard, bail was never formally set in Shahbazian’s case, and that Najaful and Gol Tapeh’s bails were $130,000 and nearly $250,000, respectively, beyond their ability to pay.
According to Article 18, Mr. Gol Tapeh’s first imprisonment ended with a “pardon” in October 2022 after serving about five years in Evin prison, while Mr. Shahbazyan also served a little more than a year after completing his initial 10-year sentence and received a “pardon” in September 2023.
Mr Gol Tapeh suffered a stroke after going on a hunger strike to protest his re-arrest, and Mr Shabazian had previously suffered from poor health.
“The June charges against Christians began with a quote from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s infamous October 2010 speech, in which he cited the proliferation of house churches across Iran as one of the ‘grave threats’ facing the Islamic Republic,” Borj said. “In my view, therefore, Khamenei’s 2010 hate speech can be understood as the direct cause of the violence suffered by these Christians and many others.”
Prosecutors went on to suggest that Protestantism and “Zionist Christianity” were one and the same, saying they demonstrated how Iranian intelligence services distort reality to secure a conviction.
“He also falsely assumes, without providing a shred of evidence, that Iranian Christian organizations abroad are agents of foreign intelligence,” Borge said. “And all of this is meant to justify and rationalize judicial violence.”
Prosecutors wrote that Shabazian was “proud of his criminal conduct,” adding, “The defendant follows the teachings of the Protestant Church and the Assemblies of God Church and considers the purpose and motive of his missionary work to be the fulfillment of Christ’s command and will to reach all the nations and peoples of the world with the message of the Gospel.”
Prosecutors said Gol Tapeh “recognized the illegality of distributing evangelistic books and began distributing Bibles and Bibles… Several times he received Persian Bibles and kept them in his home. In his confession, the defendant explained the reason for this mission: ‘This action is part of my faith as a Christian. I want to study Christian theology and share it with my loved ones in Christ.'”
Borji said these examples show that Iranian Christians like the five sentenced were convicted for reasons other than normal Christian activities, such as trying to share their faith with others or providing opportunities to read the Bible.
“On the other hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran claims to give its citizens religious freedom, but clearly such freedom of choice does not exist,” he said.
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.”
