The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) detained three Iranian Christian converts on November 17. One of them, named Javad Amini, was arrested while his wife and uncle were present. They were questioned and then released, but upon arriving home, Javad’s wife found their home completely ransacked. Later, Iranian agents came, questioning her and looking for the phone of her husband, alongside Bibles and other Christian writings that they found and confiscated during a later visit. Javad’s wife was subjected to mistreatment and psychological pressure during multiple interrogations while his husband was in jail.

One day before they were released on November 27, Javad and two female converts who were detained the same day were among those twelve converts who were summoned to court. They were charged with “propagating a religion contrary to Islam” and “collaborating with foreign governments.” During the trial, the prosecutor said that despite being Shia Muslims, they stated their religion as Christian, a statement supported by their phone messages and Christian literature found in their possession. He furthermore said that the Christian converts set up a community with the goal of sharing their Christian religion, consequently being guilty of the charges.

The outcome of the trial is still unknown, but Javad and the two female converts were released on bail the next day. Each of the three had to pay a sum equal to about $15,000.

Source: Article18

Photo: Erfan Kouchari