Yasser Mosayebzadeh| Iran

Yousef Nadarkhani and three of his church members, Saheb (Zaman) Fadaee, Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mosayebzadeh and Mohammad Reza Omidi, are serving 10-year prison sentences on charges of “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. The men are all members of the Church of Iran.

Yousef, 45, had spent nearly three years in prison after being sentenced to death for apostasy in 2010. He was acquitted in September 2012. The believers, along with Yousef’s wife Fatemeh Pasandideh, were arrested on Friday, May 13, 2016. Yousef and Fatemeh were released on bail the same day, while Saheb, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Reza were released on bail two weeks later.

The four men were sentenced in July 2017 and began their sentences a year later in July 2018, after violent arrests at their homes. Fatemeh was reportedly told she would be arrested if she left Gilan Province. Saheb, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Reza were also sentenced to 80 lashes each for drinking wine during Communion.

Yousef became a Christian at age 19. His wife is also a Christian convert from Islam, and the couple have been fighting for more than 10 years for the rights of their two boys to be recognized as Christians. For the past several years, the boys have been denied certificates showing they completed their studies, because they refused to take Islamic classes.

Updates

10 August 2020 Yasser was one of twelve prisoners in Ward 8 of Evin prison to test positive for Covid-19.

September 2020 Yasser was given temporary furlough from prison due to fears of the spread of Covid-19.

January 2021 Yasser’s 10-year sentence was reduced to three years during a court hearing in January.

22 February 2021 Yasser was granted conditional release from prison, a few months ahead of schedule. His release is dependent on him having no interaction with other Christians, nor engaging in Christian activities. Yasser’s 10-year sentence was reduced to three years during a court hearing in January 2021 and he was released on 22 February, a few months ahead of schedule.