Two Iranian Christian converts from Islam convicted on “national security” charges concerning their involvement in a “house church” will now begin their prison sentences.
Hossein Mohammadi (known as Daniel) and Zahra Gholami (known as Hannah) responded to a summons to begin their sentences on Sunday 16 November by reporting to their local sentence enforcement office in Malard, near Tehran.
In Iran the usual practice once a person has been sentenced to imprisonment is that they will later be summoned to begin their prison term.
Zahra Gholami (Hannah) and Hossein Mohammadi (Daniel) started their sentences on Sunday 16 November [Image credit: Article 18]
Daniel, 65, and Hannah, 35, were sentenced in July 2024 to two years’ imprisonment on charges of “forming” and “membership” of a “group or association with the aim of disrupting national security”.
The arrests resulted from a raid by 30 intelligence agents on a house church gathering in Shahriar (35 miles west of Tehran) on in December 2023 when some 25 worshippers had gathered to pray and to plan their Christmas celebration.
Afghan convert also sentenced
Daniel and Hannah were sentenced alongside two other Christian converts – Afghan refugee Teymur Hosseini, 45 (known as Kourosh), and a fourth believer whose identity has not been made public.
These converts were arrested in separate raids, also in December 2023.
The four Christians were tried in July 2024 at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar County, where they were sentenced under Article 498 of the Islamic Penal Code, related to organisation of “anti-state” groups.
Kourosh Hosseini arrived in Iran as a refugee from Afghanistan 20 years ago [Image credit: Mohabat News]
Kourosh, a shoemaker who has lived in Iran for around 20 years and is married with three children, was sentenced to two years in prison, and also began his jail term on 16 November.
The fourth Christian received a one-year term on the charge of “aiding and abetting” others in these alleged crimes. At the time of writing it is not known whether this fourth Christian has answered their summons to prison.
Subsequent appeals and application for a retrial with the Supreme Court were both dismissed.
How you can pray
Pray that Daniel, Hannah and Kourosh, as they begin these harsh sentences, will know God’s strength and comfort and His presence with them throughout the difficult days ahead. Pray for protection for the fourth believer, that they will know that the Lord is directing their steps. Continue to remember in prayer Iranian Christian converts as they seek to find ways to meet and worship amid the tight state security applied across the country.
