August 2025 Action
From Voice of the Martyrs Prison Alert:
Pastor Joseph Shahbazian, an Armenian-Iranian, was rearrested in his home on February 6, 2025, and taken to Iran's notorious Evin prison. No reason for the arrest was given. He remains behind bars without charges and has been denied access to a lawyer.
Pastor Joseph was initially arrested on June 30, 2020. He was released after a lengthy bail process in which prosecutors initially asked for 3 billion tomans (around $150,000 USD). They later reduced his bail to a still-exorbitant amount of 2 billion tomans ($100,000).
On June 6, 2023, Pastor Joseph was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of "acting against national security" for leading home churches attended by Muslim converts to Christianity. Iranian authorities view those who attend and lead house churches as "enemy groups." Pastor Joseph began serving his 10-year sentence on August 17, 2022, when his appeal was denied.
In September 2023, thirteen months later, Pastor Joseph received a pardon and was released along with numerous other Christian prisoners during a general amnesty. Throughout his time in prison, Pastor Joseph suffered from a medical condition.
No reason was given for his rearrest on February 6, 2025.
(Source: Article 18)
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Joseph Shahbazian Evin Prison Saadat Abad Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran