Several Iranian Christians sentenced for their faith have been imprisoned in recent days, with additional believers facing harsh penalties, according to Article 18, an organization that monitors religious freedom violations in Iran.
The group reported that two Christian converts were taken into custody on Dec. 16 and Dec. 20, while another Christian woman was ordered to begin serving a lengthy prison sentence just days before Christmas.
One of those imprisoned is Nayereh Arjaneh, who was arrested with her husband at their home in Garmsar on July 7, 2025. Arjaneh began serving her sentence at Semnan Prison on Dec. 23 following her conviction for “promoting deviant propaganda and teachings contrary to Islamic law/”.
Article 18 said Arjaneh was among several Christian converts detained after attending a seminar in Turkey in 2025.
She received a sentence of five years in unconditional imprisonment, a fine of 165 million tomans (about $1,500), two years of internal exile in Kouhbanan in Kerman Province—roughly a 10-hour drive from her home—a two-year travel ban, and additional restrictions, the group reported.
Arjaneh was also handed an additional five-year prison sentence and fined 60 million tomans (about $500) for allegedly “providing financial and material support to groups affiliated with Zionist Christianity.” However, Judge Farshid Safdari acquitted her of a separate charge of “insulting religious sanctities.”
Her husband, Qasem Esmaili, was sentenced to 3.6 years in prison, though Article 18 said the sentence has not yet been enforced due to his ongoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
Arjaneh had previously received a six-month suspended prison sentence in 2022 related to her Christian activities.
Article 18 noted that Christian converts in Iran are barred from having designated places of worship, building churches, or establishing Christian centers, prompting some believers to travel abroad to receive Christian teaching and attend services.
Following her arrest, Arjaneh spent nearly 40 days in detention and was initially released on bail set at 500 million tomans (about $4,000). She was summoned again on Oct. 7, 2025, detained for three days, and released only after bail was raised to 2 billion tomans (more than $15,000).
“During her detention, Nayereh was subjected to psychological torture, including being threatened with execution,” Article 18 reported.
In a separate case, Article 18 said two brothers imprisoned for attending a Christmas gathering four years ago have now begun serving their sentences at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. Mahmoud Mardani-Kharaji was imprisoned on Dec. 16, followed by Mansour Mardani-Kharaji on Dec. 20.
The brothers, both in their 50s, were sentenced to four years in prison, fined roughly $1,500 each, banned from joining any groups for five years, and ordered into two years of internal exile from Isfahan Province after their release.
Their convictions were issued under the amended Article 500, which criminalizes “deviant propaganda activities contrary to the holy religion of Islam.”
Article 18 also reported that another Christian convert, Aida Najaflou, was temporarily released from Evin Prison on Dec. 21 due to concerns that she could face paralysis after fracturing her spine in a fall from her prison bunk bed.
Najaflou, 44, was freed pending appeal of her 17-year sentence after posting bail exceeding $75,000, according to Article 18, citing a post on X by her lawyer, Saeedeh Hosseinzadeh.
Her case was heard alongside four others—including Iranian-Armenians Joseph Shahbazian and Lida Shahbazian, and Christian converts Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and another unnamed defendant—by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati.
Although they faced charges including “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the system,” Article 18 said their sentences were based on their Christian beliefs and peaceful religious activities, such as establishing house churches, holding prayer meetings, and celebrating Christmas.
