قاضی گفت: «بگو اشتباه کردم مسیحی شدم و همه چیز رو انکار کن. اگه این کار رو بکنی می‌تونم توی حکم بهت تخفیف بدم یا تبرئه‌ات کنم... من گفتم: «من نمی‌تونم اعتقادی که دارم رو انکار کنم.» او گفت: «چرا نمی‌تونی؟ کار سختی نیست. به همسر و بچه‌ات، به خودت رحم کن. این بخشی از بازجویی مریم باطنی‌نیا است که همراه شوهرش، رضا موسوی، به دلیل باور و فعالیت صلح‌آمیز مسیحی به زندان افتاد. این دو شهروند مسیحی با سازمان #ماده۱۸، شهادت خود از ایمان، جفا و مقاومت را در میان گذاشتند. بیشتر بخوانید: articleeighteen.com/fa/witne… #مریم_باطنی‌نیا #رضا_موسوی #مسیحیان_ایران #ایران #مسیحی #FoRBForAll #Article18 #IranWar‌

در بدو ورود، مردی از من پرسید: «تو هم مثل اینا هستی؟» من گفتم: «منظورتون چیه؟» گفت: «تو هم مسیحی هستی؟» گفتم: «بله منم مسیحی هستم.» گفت: «پس تو هم بازجویی میشی.» یک موضوع مهم این است که وقتی یک نفر در ایران #مسیحی شود آگاه به آزار‌ها و جفاها از سمت حکومت است و با این وجود حاضر است که انتخاب کند مسیحی شود. زمانی که مسیحی شدیم می‌دانستیم که جفا و یا حتی شهادت را ممکن است تجربه کنیم. این بخشی از بازجویی مریم باطنی‌نیا است که همراه شوهرش، رضا موسوی، به دلیل باور و فعالیت صلح‌آمیز مسیحی به زندان افتاد. این دو شهروند مسیحی با سازمان #ماده۱۸، شهادت خود از ایمان، جفا و مقاومت را در میان گذاشتند. بیشتر بخوانید: articleeighteen.com/fa/witne… #مریم_باطنی‌نیا #رضا_موسوی #مسیحیان_ایران #ایران #مسیحی #FoRBForAll #Article18 #IranWar‌

بازجو با منت گذاشتن می‌گفت: «شما طبق قرآن، مرتد هستید و مجازات مرتد هم در دین اسلام مشخص است. ما به شما رحم کردیم که اجازه دادیم اینجا بنشینید و داریم با شما صحبت می‌کنیم. این هم به این دلیل است که اولین بار است. اما دفعه‌های بعد به این شکل با شما رفتار نمی‌کنیم. الان داریم به شما ارفاق می‌کنیم.» این بخشی از بازجویی مریم باطنی‌نیا است که همراه شوهرش، رضا موسوی، به دلیل باور و فعالیت صلح‌آمیز مسیحی به زندان افتاد. این دو شهروند مسیحی با سازمان ماده ۱۸، شهادت خود از ایمان، جفا و مقاومت را در میان گذاشتند. articleeighteen.com/fa/witne… #مریم_باطنی‌نیا #رضا_موسوی #مسیحیان_ایران #ایران #FoRBForAll #Article18 #Iran

A theft yesterday at a #Russian #Orthodox church in #Tehran has shed light again on the types of #churches permitted to operate in Iran today, and those that are not. The Church of St Nicholas is the only Russian Orthodox church still functioning in Iran today, when once there were around 50. The other churches still permitted to hold services are #Assyrian, #Armenian, or Roman #Catholic, with Persian-language services outlawed to prevent attendance by the growing number of #Christian #converts. One church that used to offer such services, the Evangelical Church of #Mashhad, was demolished last week after being forcibly closed for decades. Meanwhile, the only three remaining #Anglican churches in Iran – St Luke’s in #Isfahan, St Paul’s in Tehran, and St Simon the Zealot’s in #Shiraz – have not been permitted to reopen since the Covid-19 pandemic. #Article18 estimates that there are around 800,000 #Christians in Iran today, the vast majority of them Christian converts, who have no #place2worship and therefore meet together in private homes in what have become known as “#house_churches”. However, these gatherings have been described as “enemy groups of a Zionist cult” by the Iranian authorities, and members routinely face arrest and imprisonment on charges of “membership of illegal groups” or “propaganda against the state”. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/244… #FoRBForAll

A #Christian convert who was among over 50 arrested by #Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence following last year’s 12-day #war with #Israel has died in a bus crash. @Hamed_Mohebbi, a 40-year-old cafe owner, was on his way home after visiting some of the rehabilitating drug addicts he helped to support when the crash took place. Hamed was detained for 6 weeks following his arrest last June, when coffee supplies worth around $20,000 were confiscated from him. His court case was still ongoing when he died, but had been postponed due to the war. He was charged under #Article500 with “missionary activity contrary to and disruptive of the holy law of #Islam by promoting ‘Zionist’ #Christianity and holding a #house_church”. 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/243… #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Iran #Christians #Article18 #HamedMohabbi #Rasht

An #Evangelical church in #Mashhad has been demolished, without warning or explanation. The church, which once offered #Persian-speaking services before its forced closure more than two decades ago, was demolished on the morning of 4 June. A former member of the church told #Article18 it had been "a safe haven for many over the years". "I myself took refuge in the church when my father kicked me out of my home because I converted to Christianity. I converted to faith and was baptised in that church, but today the building no longer exists," Rev Mansour Khajehpour said. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/243… #Iran #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #Presbyterian

An Iranian pastor who has lived in #Armenia since 2019 has appealed to the @UN after his #passport was revoked. #Masoud_Taheri fled #Iran after being arrested for his #house_church activities and has not returned since. During his time in Armenia, the #Christian convert has set up a business in #Yerevan, but as he prepared for a recent business trip to Spain, he discovered that his passport had been revoked. Masoud told #Article18 he believes his passport was taken away because of his “political activities, Christian #faith, and public criticism of the #IslamicRepublic of Iran”. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/243… #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll @drmaisato @ViviKrsticevic

An Iranian #Christian convert has been sentenced to 9 years and 8 months in prison on charges including “propaganda against the state” and “gathering and collusion against #Iran's national security”. Ghazal, who spent two months in #EvinPrison in 2024 after being convicted of “propaganda against the state by chanting slogans”, was rearrested in January at her home in #Tehran. Her #Bible and other Christian literature were confiscated, and she was then taken away to an unknown location, with no explanation given for her rearrest. According to Article18’s sources, Ghazal was pressured during interrogations to admit that her #Bible and other Christian literature had been used for evangelical purposes, but Ghazal denied this, saying they had been for personal use only and that, as a Christian, she had the right to possess them. Article18’s executive director, Mansour Borji, said that due to her husband’s #Parkinsons disease, Ghazal’s sentencing was in reality “a sentence for both of them”. articleeighteen.com/news/242… #Iran #Christians #Converts #Catholics #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #Parkinsons

A lawyer who has defended political prisoners including Iranian #Christians has been arrested again in #Shiraz, according to reports. According to the Emtedad website, Bahar Sahraian was detained on Saturday, 16 May, while following up on her cases at the Shiraz Revolutionary Court. She was reportedly taken to the prosecutor’s office that same morning and charged with “assembly and collusion to act against national security”, “propaganda activities against the Islamic system”, and “publishing falsehoods”, before being sent to #AdelAbad Prison. Bahar has defended clients including Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi, whose adopted daughter, Lydia, was ordered by a court to be removed from their care because they had converted to Christianity and Lydia was considered to have been born a Muslim; and Sara Ahmadi and Homayoun Zhaveh, who were sentenced to a combined 10 years in #Tehran’s #EvinPrison, even though Homayoun, in his 60s, suffered from advanced #Parkinsons disease. In Sam and Maryam’s case, Bahar managed to obtain two fatwas from Grand Ayatollahs – the most senior #Shia Islamic authority in #Iran – declaring that, owing to the “critical nature” of the case, poor health of the child and undisputed emotional attachment with her parents, #Lydia’s adoption by Christian #converts was “permissible”. She was also one of 120 lawyers to sign an open letter to the head of the judiciary at the time, calling on him to overturn the decision. (He did not.) Full story👇🏻 articleeighteen.com/news/240… #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #Article18

برای دهه‌ها، برنامه «لوتنبرگ-اسپکتر» (Lautenberg-Specter) راهی برای نجات اعضای اقلیت‌های دینی تحت جفا، از جمله مسیحیان، یهودیان و بهائیان دارای بستگان نزدیک در ایالات متحده فراهم کرده بود تا بتوانند از آزار و اذیت در ایران و کشورهای اتحاد جماهیر شوروی سابق بگریزند. این برنامه به عنوان «متمم لوتنبرگ» نیز شناخته می‌شود. دولت ترامپ در سال ۲۰۲۵ این برنامه را تعلیق کرد. این برنامه با فراهم کردن پناه برای افرادی که به دلیل باورهای دینی خود تحت تعقیب و سرکوب قرار داشتند، نمادی از نقش رهبری آمریکا در دفاع از آزادی دینی و مذهبی به شمار می‌رفت. اکنون اما تعلیق این برنامه نگرانی‌های جدی درباره وضعیت اقلیت‌های دینی ایران ایجاد کرده است. در تازه‌ترین قسمت پادکست کمیسیون آمریکایی در امور آزادی مذهبی بین‌المللی ، از برنامه لوتنبرگ-اسپکتر به عنوان «راه نجاتی» برای اقلیت‌های دینی تحت آزار در ایران یاد شده است. تصویب اصلاحیه موسوم به اسپکتر در سال ۲۰۰۴ گروه‌های اقلیت‌ دینی ایرانی را از این برنامه بهره‌مند کرد تا آنها بتوانند از آزار و اذیت‌های جمهوری اسلامی فرار کنند. مارک هتفیلد، رئیس سازمان هایاس که تاکنون روند اسکان بیش از ۳۰ هزار ایرانی را از طریق این برنامه تسهیل کرده، توضیح می‌دهد که برخلاف بسیاری از مسیرهای پناهندگی، متقاضیان برنامه لوتنبرگ-اسپکتر می‌توانستند درخواست خود را از همان کشوری که در آن تحت آزار قرار داشتند ثبت کنند. پس از تأیید اولیه، آنان به کشور ثالثی منتقل می‌شدند تا مراحل نهایی بررسی و صدور ویزا را طی کنند. بر اساس گزارش ها، نزدیک به ۱۵ هزار پناهجوی ایرانی همچنان در انتظار اسکان مجدد در آمریکا هستند. articleeighteen.com/fa/news/… #Iran #Converts #Armenians #Assyrians #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #Article18 #Refugees

محشر (محترم) پرندین، نوکیش #مسیحی محبوس در زندان اوین، با وجود ابتلا به بیماری قلبی و همچنین دو تومور در ناحیه زیر گلو و مجاورت مخچه، از رسیدگی تخصصی پزشکی و اعزام به مراکز درمانی خارج از زندان محروم مانده است. محشر (محترم) پرندین، هنرمند و نقاش، مادر یک پسر محصل و سرپرست خانواده بوده که پیشتر توسط دادگاه انقلاب به دو سال حبس محکوم شده است. خبرگزاری #هرانا، با انتشار این خبر با نقل قول از یک منبع مطلع نوشت: «محشر پرندین از بیماری حاد قلبی و همچنین دو تومور در ناحیه زیر گلو و مجاورت مخچه رنج می‌برد. بنا بر تشخیص پزشک زندان، وضعیت جسمی وی نگران‌کننده بوده و این تومورها نیازمند جراحی فوری هستند. با این حال، وی تاکنون از اعزام به مراکز درمانی تخصصی محروم مانده است.» articleeighteen.com/fa/news/… #مسیحیان #مسیحیان_ایران #ایران #ماده۱۸ #Iran #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #article18

A Christian convert serving a 2-year sentence in #Tehran’s EvinPrison is being denied access to the medical care she badly needs, according to @hra_news. The woman, a mother of around 50 years of age named Mahshar Parandin, reportedly has a heart condition and two tumours, but is being denied care. According to the report, Mahshar is in need of immediate surgery, as one of the tumours, in her brain, has affected her balance, movement and speech. The second tumour, in Mahshar’s throat, is also reported to have grown visibly larger. HRANA reports that Mahshar, an artist and painter, is also eligible for parole, but that the prosecutor has rejected her request for conditional release. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/240… #Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Iran #Christians #Converts

A podcast by @USCIRF has hailed the suspended Lautenberg-Specter #refugee programme as a “a vital initiative” and “critical lifeline”, which “for decades … provided a pathway for thousands of individuals fleeing religious #persecution … including #Christians, #Jews and #Bahais”. Of the nearly 15,000 Iranians currently awaiting resettlement under the scheme, “the vast majority are Christians – primarily Armenian and Assyrian Christians”, according to the president of @HIASrefugees , which has facilitated the resettlement of over 30,000 Iranians through the programme. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/240… #Iran #Converts #Armenians #Assyrians #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #Article18 #Refugees

#Article18’s @fredpetrossian presented his latest research paper today at the 2026 conference of the Institute for the Study of Freedom of Religion or Belief (#FoRB) in Leuven, Belgium, examining how the EU and the international acts can respond to the “direct, structural, and cultural violence” experienced by religious #minorities, including #Christians, in #Iran. His conclusion?

“Outside engagement can mitigate some of the #IslamicRepublic's most extreme practices, but has not transformed the underlying structures that subordinate #minorities within an exclusionary religious state.​ “The central challenge is not only whether outside actors denounce #repression, but whether they are willing to confront the structures and stories that sustain it.”

 Read the full paper 👇🏻
 
🔗 articleeighteen.com/analysis…

 #ISFORB #FoRBForAll #ETFLeuven #Place2Worship #Converts

The family of an Iranian Christian convert killed during the January massacre by the #IslamicRepublic’s security forces continue to be prevented from erecting a tombstone over his grave, according to a report by @IranIntl. #MohsenRashidi, who was 42 years old, was one of at least 22 #Christians among the 10,000s killed in the deadly crackdown on the nationwide protests that preceded the war. Instead of a gravestone, Mohsen’s resting place is currently covered only with stones, though a photograph of him has been erected behind the grave, and some flowers placed on top of the stones. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/240… #Iran #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #IranMassacre #Article18

#Article18’s @fredpetrossian has identified two parallel communication systems in #Iran regarding the situation of prisoners of conscience, including Christian #converts: one operated by the #persecuted #minorities themselves and human rights actors who support them, and another constructed by the #IslamicRepublic. He presented his research today at the 2026 conference of the Institute for the Study of Freedom of Religion or Belief (#FoRB) in Leuven, Belgium. You can read it here👇🏻
 
 🔗 articleeighteen.com/analysis…

 #ISFORB #FoRBForAll #ETFLeuven #Place2Worship #Christians Cartoon by #Shahrokh_Heidari

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has highlighted the “continuing” targeting of ethnic and religious #minorities in #Iran, despite the ceasefire. In a post on X on Wednesday, @drmaisato said “the use of national security charges to silence dissent … and the targeting of ethnic and religious minorities are patterns I have documented throughout my mandate— and they are continuing despite the ceasefire”. Dr Sato said she echoed the words of the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, @volker_turk, who in a statement earlier on 29 April said “many detainees have been forcibly disappeared, tortured, or subjected to other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including coerced – and sometimes televised – confessions and mock executions”, and that members of religious and ethnic minorities were “at particular risk”. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/239… #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Iran #Christians #Converts #Article18

An Iranian Christian convert has been released from #EvinPrison after 2 years in detention on charges related to his religious activities. Amir-Ali Minaei, 32, was released on Wednesday, 29 April, as part of an annual amnesty of prisoners. He had been serving a sentence of 3 years and 7 months (later reduced to 2 years and 6 months because he did not appeal) since 29 April 2024, on charges of “propaganda activities against the regime through establishing a #house_church”. 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/239… #Iran #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Christians #Converts #Article18

The #IslamicRepublic has weaponised the economy for decades as a tool of pressure and punishment, routinely depriving individuals of work and livelihood as a means of repression against unrecognised religious #minorities such as #Christian #converts and #Bahais. In countless cases, judges and security agencies have deemed prison, exile, and fines insufficient and have imposed employment bans that effectively strip individuals of the right to earn a normal livelihood and even survive. The aim is not merely temporary punishment, but economic warfare intended to force believers to renounce their faith, emigrate, or be gradually erased from public life. ✍🏻 @fredpetrossian 🔗 articleeighteen.com/analysis… #InternationalWorkersDay #Iran #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Article18

پاپ لئو سرانجام در برابر موج گسترده انتقادات، کشتار شهروندان ایرانی در دی‌ماه را محکوم کرد؛ موضعی که بسیاری آن را دیرهنگام اما قابل توجه ارزیابی می‌کنند. این اظهارنظر پس از آن مطرح شد که رهبر کاتولیک‌های جهان به‌دلیل سکوت طولانی‌مدت ( پس از  ۱۰۶ روز) در قبال سرکوب خونین اعتراضات در ایران و نیز تمرکز بر مواضع کلی ضد جنگ، با انتقادات فزاینده‌ای روبه‌رو شده بود. اکنون، برای نخستین‌بار، او به‌طور مستقیم به موضوع کشته‌شدن معترضان ایرانی واکنش نشان داده است. #پاپ_لئو پنجشنبه هفته گذشته در یک نشست خبری و در پاسخ به پرسشی درباره کشته شدن هزاران معترض در زمستان گذشته در #ایران گفت: «من همه اقداماتی را که ناعادلانه هستند محکوم می‌کنم. من گرفتن جان انسان‌ها را محکوم می‌کنم.» او در ادامه تأکید کرد: «وقتی یک حکومت، وقتی یک کشور تصمیماتی می‌گیرد که به شکل ناعادلانه جان دیگران را می‌گیرد، بدیهی است که این باید محکوم شود.» #Iran #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #article18 #مسیحیان_ایران #ماده۱۸