Revolutionary Court Sentenced a Christian Convert to One Year in Prison

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

IRAN (ANS) -- While Christians all around the world celebrated Christmas and the New Year, many Christian families in Iran missed their loved ones who are in prison.

Untitled graphic in Mohabat News story

According to a story by Mohabat News, Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced Farsi-speaking Christian convert Hossein Saketi Aramsari to one year in prison.

Judge Asef Hosseini convicted him in Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj.

Human rights activists said Saketi had appeared in court several times before receiving his prison term. While the court sentenced him to a year in prison, he had earlier been granted bail.

However, Mohabat News said, "For unknown reasons, judicial authorities prevented his family from posting the bail for his conditional freedom."

Iran's Ministry of Intelligence had arrested Saketi on July 23 2013 in Golestan province.

Saketi (known by his friends as Stephen), was then transferred to a jail in Jajrom county and from there to the Intelligence Office in Bojnord, in the Northern Khorasan province.

After 15 days in solitary confinement, and making the claim that the court in Bojnord did not have the required jurisdiction to judge him, Saketi's case was transferred to Alborz Province Revolutionary Court.

The charges in Saketi's case, Mohabat News said, were related to Christian evangelism.

Saketi was handed over to the Intelligence Office in Karaj on Aug. He was held in solitary confinement in Ward 8 of Rajaei-Shahr prison until Oct. 26 and eventually taken to Ward 7 of Karaj Central Detention House, where he is being currently held.

Religious dissidents in Iran, especially Christian converts, are under increasing pressure and suffer "inhumane" treatment from Iran's Islamic government.

These pressures have peaked in the last three years and resulted in arrests and the imprisonment of a large number of Iranian Christians, as well as the closure of many Farsi speaking churches and house fellowships across the country.

Mohabat News said these government pressures are intended to stop the spread of Christianity in Iran.

For more information about Mohabat News visit www.mohabatnews.com