A Christian convert has been sentenced to eight years and eleven months in prison on charges including “propaganda against Islamic law and insulting the Supreme Leader,” according to human rights organizations.
Branch 1 of Varamin Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Ashkan Ramesh, sentenced Morteza (Kalvin) Faghanpour-Sasi to seven years and six months for “propaganda activities against Islamic law due to connections abroad” and seventeen months for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported.
Charges included distributing Christian literature without authorization, attending online theology courses at foreign universities to study evangelism methods, and posting a caricature of the Supreme Leader on social media.
Security forces arrested Faghanpour-Sasi on June 13 while he was at work, according to Mohabbat News
Agents later searched his home, seizing Bibles, evangelical materials, his mobile phone, and images of Jesus Christ and a cross from his wall.
He was held under repeated interrogation for one month in Ward 240 of Evin Prison and 20 days in Ward 209.
Unable to post bail, he spent four more months in Ward 8 before being temporarily released after submitting two salary slips as collateral.
Iran does not recognize conversion from Islam to other religions, and Christian converts face prosecution and imprisonment.
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