Abdolreza (Matthias) Hagh

Prisoner Details

Christian convert Abdolreza (Matthias) Haghnejad was arrested on Feb. 10, 2019, when agents of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard raided the house church gathering in Rasht where Pastor Matthias was ministering. The agents confiscated Bibles and mobile phones during the raid. Khalil Dehkanpour, Hossein (Elisha) Kadivar, Kamal Naamanian, Mohammed Vafada, Shahrooz Eslamdous, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Khatibi and Behnam Akhlaghi, who are all members of the same church, were also arrested between Jan. 29 and Feb. 23, 2019. In March, seven of the nine men were released on bail to await sentencing, while Pastor Matthias and Shahrooz Eslamdous remained in custody.

At a preliminary hearing on July 24, Pastor Matthias and the eight others were accused of "acting against national security" and "promoting Zionism."

Judge Mohammed Moghiseh, who has earned the nickname the "judge of death," rejected the lawyer representing five of the defendants, and they, in turn, rejected an alternate appointed by the court. Angered, the judge transferred the pastor, Shahrooz Eslamdous, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Khatibi and Behnam Akhlaghi straight to Evin Prison, where they remain in Ward 4.

The converts lost their appeal against the five-year prison sentences, though neither the men nor their lawyers were allowed to attend the Feb. 25, 2020 hearing.

All nine men are from the northern city of Rasht and are members of the Church of Iran. The church's pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence, and the men were helping lead the church in his absence.