Iran: Prison Sentences for Christians Increase
Last year, more than 900 Iranian civilians were executed. Scores more were handed down death sentences for religiously-based charges. Ninety-six Iranian Christian believers were sentenced to a combined 263 years in jail.
The data – published by the US Commission on Religious Freedom and, separately, by UK-based campaign group Article 18 – makes shocking reading.
Amongst the hundreds of death sentences carried out, convictions ranged from ‘corruption on earth’ and ‘waging war on God’ to participation in the 2022 anti-government protests. The study, ‘Tip of the Iceberg,’ was released by Article 18, together with Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Middle East Concern. It documents the spike in prison terms handed down by judges. It follows a sharp rise in arrests in late 2023. Five Christians are recorded as receiving 10-year terms and another believer a 15-year sentence.
‘The Iranian government seems to have intensified its efforts to isolate and financially undermine the Christian community as part of a broader strategy to suppress its growth and influence,’ noted Mansour Borji, of Article 18.
Arrests continue
Now, in 2025, the persecution is continuing.
In March, three Christian converts, including a pregnant woman, received harsh sentences. Narges Nasri, expecting her first child, was sentenced to 16 years for “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law”, involvement in a house church, and social media posts and supporting the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement. Abbas Soori, 48, received 15 years on similar charges, while Christian musician Mehran Shamloui, 37, was given 10 years with his musical instruments confiscated.
“A regime that tears an expectant mother from her family, and from appropriate medical care, cannot claim to stand for justice or dignity,” notes Michael Bosch, Middle East analyst for World Watch Research. “Narges’ only ‘crime’ is her religious belief.”
“Abbas Soori is being punished with 15 years of his life, simply for practicing his faith privately in his home. By removing Mehran Shamloui’s musical instruments, and locking him up, they are attempting to silence the expression of faith through art.
“Christian converts are especially vulnerable. The Iranian state incorrectly views converts as an existential threat to the Islamic Republic.”
"Women, Life, Freedom"
Since International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Iranian authorities have stepped up their targeting of women activists.
According to Amnesty International, at least five women have been arrested, including four Kurdish women’s rights advocates. Leila Pashaei, Baran Saedi, Sohaila Motaei and Soma Mohammadrezaei are being held in solitary confinement without access to legal representation.
Iran’s Revolution of 1979 removed the Shah, the country’s secular, but authoritarian, monarch. The new Islamic Republic embedded Shia Islam’s religious authority into every structure of the state. Iran today has developed an extensive and brutal security apparatus, designed to suppress all religious and political dissent, particularly targeting Christians and all religious minorities.
Despite intense persecution, the church in Iran continues to grow.
*actual name withheld for security reasons
