Prisoner Details
Christian converts Mehdi Khatibi and Babak Hosseinzadeh were arrested at two separate house churches on Feb. 23, 2019. Kamal Naamanian, Mohammed Vafadar, Behnam Akhlaghi, Khalil Dehkanpour, Hossein (Elisha) Kadivar, Abdolreza (Matthias) Haghnejad and Shahrooz Eslamdous, 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, the nine men 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 they 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.
Petition Officials
Masoud Pezeshkian
President
Mailing Address
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Pasteur St., Pasteur Sq.
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Other Contact Information
Telephone: +98(21)64451
Fax: 98 21 649 5880
Saeed Iravani
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
Email Address
iran@un.intMailing Address
622 Third Avenue
34th Floor
New York, NY
10017
Other Contact Information
Telephone: 212-687-2020
Fax: 212-867-7086
Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Email Address
contact@leader.irMailing Address
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Soahada Street
Qom, Iran
Other Contact Information
Fax: + 98 251 7 774 2228