Additional Name(s): Babak Hossein-Zadeh, بابک حسینزاده
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Acquitted
Sentence: Originally 5 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: July/24/2019
Date of Sentencing: October/13/2019
Date of Release: January/1/2022
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Babak Hosseinzadeh
Extra Bio Info:
Babak Hosseinzadeh was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 23, 2019, authorities arrested Hosseinzadeh while he was at a house-church. Other members of the Church of Iran in Rasht were reportedly arrested around the same time.
In March 2019, Hosseinzadeh was released on bail pending trial.
On July 24, 2019, Hosseinzadeh was remanded after reportedly being unable to pay the new bail set by the judge. During this hearing, it is also reported that Hosseinzadeh was not allowed to choose his own lawyer.
On October 13, 2019, Hosseinzadeh was sentenced to five years in prison for “assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610).
In March 2020, Hosseinzadeh's appeal was rejected after he and his lawyer were reportedly not allowed to attend the hearing.
On January 1, 2022, Hosseinzadeh was reportedly conditionally released from Evin Prison pending a review of his case.
In February 2022, a court of appeals acquitted Hosseinzadeh.
In February 2022, a new case was reportedly opened up against Hosseinzadeh for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC).
On May 8, 2022, security forces reportedly arrested Hosseinzadeh in Rasht. He was reportedly released the next day.
Sources:
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Photo attributed to Article 18
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"Converts already facing charges re-arrested in Rasht" Article 18
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"Two Christian Converts, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh, Summoned to Court for a New Legal Case" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
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"Case closed: Christians’ house-church worship was not ‘action against national security" Article 18
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"Nine Christian converts conditionally released following Supreme Court ruling" Article 18
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"Babak Hosseinzadeh" United for Iran
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Iran Releases 85,000 Prisoners Due to COVID-19 Spread Inside Jails-Several Christian Prisoners Refused Release Door of Hope International
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"Christian converts lose appeals against five-year sentences" Article 18
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"Nine Christian converts given five-year sentences" Article 18
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"‘Judge of Death’ increases converts’ bail tenfold after they insist on choosing lawyer" Article 18
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"Arrests of Rasht Christians continue, taking total to 9 in a month" Article 18
Additional Name(s): مهدی خطیبی
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Acquitted
Sentence: Originally 5 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: July/24/2019
Date of Sentencing: October/13/2019
Date of Release: January/1/2022
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly
Mehdi Khatibi
Extra Bio Info:
Mehdi Khatibi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.
On February 23, 2019, authorities arrested Khatibi at a house-church. Other members of the Church of Iran in Rasht were reportedly arrested around the same time.
In March 2019, Khatibi was released on bail pending trial.
On July 24, 2019, Khatibi was remanded after reportedly being unable to pay the new bail set by the judge. During this hearing, it is also reported that Khatibi was not allowed to choose his own lawyer.
On October 13, 2019, Khatibi was sentenced to five years in prison for “assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610 IPC).
In March 2020, Khatibi's appeal was rejected after he and his lawyer were reportedly not allowed to attend the hearing.
On January 1, 2022, Khatibi was reportedly conditionally released from Evin Prison pending a review of his case.
In February 2022, a court of appeals acquitted Khatibi.
Sources:
-
Photo attributed to Article 18
-
"Case closed: Christians’ house-church worship was not ‘action against national security’" Article 18
-
"Nine Christian converts conditionally released following Supreme Court ruling" Article 18
-
"Mehdi Khatbi" United for Iran
-
Iran Releases 85,000 Prisoners Due to COVID-19 Spread Inside Jails-Several Christian Prisoners Refused Release Door of Hope International
-
"Christian converts lose appeals against five-year sentences" Article 18
-
"Nine Christian converts given five-year sentences" Article 18
-
"‘Judge of Death’ increases converts’ bail tenfold after they insist on choosing lawyer" Article 18
-
"Arrests of Rasht Christians continue, taking total to 9 in a month" Article 18
Oct 29, 2021
USCIRF is deeply concerned about religious freedom conditions in the Russian Federation, which have rapidly deteriorated in recent years as the government increasingly mistreats “traditional” religious communities, and targets Jehovah’s Witnesses, with baseless ‘extremism’ charges, and uses unsubstantiated accusations of ‘terrorism’ to imprison Crimean Muslim activists opposed to its illegal annexation of their homeland. USCIRF has covered these violations in numerous publications and hearings, including a report released this week on religious freedom abuses in Chechnya.
USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Jason Morton joins us today to elaborate on the myriad of religious freedom concerns in Russia and Chechnya in particular.
Read USCIRF’s Issue Update on Religious Freedom Violations in the Republic of Chechnya
Follow the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, and Google Podcasts to get notifications of our weekly episodes.