The scapegoating of #Christians in #Iran is the focus of our 2026 annual report. Nearly twice as many were arrested in 2025 than in 2024, and more than twice as many were imprisoned. Sentences also got harsher: Christians received a total of 280 years in prison sentences, and 11 individuals received sentences of over 10 years each. “For 47 years, the Iranian people have been subjected to a regime that not only consistently fails to uphold human rights for its citizens, but brutally quashes dissenting voices, opinions or beliefs,” the report states. “This report details the violations throughout 2025 experienced by just one section of society – the #Christian community.”

 Read the full report here 👇

 🔗 articleeighteen.com/reports/… #Article18

Why Article 18? Did you know that #Article18 is named after Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, a covenant the Islamic Republic of #Iran has ratified and is therefore legally obliged to uphold. Under this article, #ReligiousFreedom is defined as including freedom to: - have or adopt a belief of one's choice - practise it in public or private. - teach it to one's children Article 18 also prohibits states from: - coercion, or from - limiting this freedom, except when not to do so would endanger public safety or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. Unfortunately in Iran today, in practice the right to #FoRB is routinely denied to all Iranians. Raise your voice today and remind the Iranian authorities of their obligations to ensure FoRB for all, as defined by Article 18. #InternationalReligiousFreedomDay Visit our website: 👉 ArticleEighteen.com #HumanRights #FreedomOfBelief #Christians #Converts #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Article18

'Why bother when violations continue?' "I get this question a lot: 'What more can you do? Enough with your words! Act on it!'" @UN Special Rapporteur on #Iran @drmaisato tells the #Article18Podcast. "It feels like it's almost like asking a journalist to stop an execution by writing a piece about it. "But the overall point I really do get, and it's difficult to measure impact. Because we don't know what action leads to what ... and it's even more difficult to prove what has been prevented. "The authorities know that we're watching. Does that mean the next #church confiscation may not happen, or would it be delayed? We'll never be able to measure that." The 5th episode of the #article18podcast is here, featuring the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of #humanrights in the #IslamicRepublic of #iran, Mai Sato. Watch the full interview here: 📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm… #Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran

#پیتر_کولگراف، اسقف ماینز در آلمان، با پذیرش #کفالت_سیاسی محبوبه شعبانی، زندانی سیاسی ۳۳ ساله محکوم به اعدام، خواستار آزادی فوری او شد. این اقدام با پیگیری بهروز اسدی، فعال حقوق بشر ایرانی، صورت گرفته است. کولگراف نیز در واکنش به پرونده محبوبه شعبانی گفت: «من نمی‌توانم چنین ظلم و بی‌عدالتی‌ای را بپذیرم و با آن کنار بیایم. [...] معتقدم حتی تلاش نکردن برای کمک، قطعاً راه نادرستی است.» بر اساس اطلاعات منتشرشده درباره پرونده، محبوبه شعبانی، متولد مشهد، به اتهاماتی از جمله «محاربه» و اتهام مطرح‌شده درباره اقدام علیه منافع اسرائیل، آمریکا و گروه‌های اپوزیسیون به اعدام محکوم شده است. از جمله اتهامات او کمک‌رسانی به معترضان مجروح و انتقال آنان با موتورسیکلت شخصی به مراکز درمانی در جریان اعتراضات ۱۸ و ۱۹ دی ۱۴۰۴ عنوان شده است. محبوبه شعبانی در شهریور ۱۴۰۵ از بند زنان زندان وکیل‌آباد #مشهد به سلول انفرادی منتقل شده است. درخواست آزادی فوری او از سوی اسقف اعظم ماینتس، توجه تازه‌ای را به وضعیت این زندانی محکوم به اعدام جلب کرده است. کفیل سیاسی درباره فردی که کفالتش را بر عهده می‌گیرد، قدرت اجرایی ندارد و نمی‌تواند مانند یک وکیل حقوقی در دادگاه از او دفاع کند اما این قدرت را دارد که با استفاده از مقام و موقعیت سیاسی‌ خود، صدای فرد در معرض خطر باشد و با اطلاع‌رسانی درباره‌ او، توجه افکارعمومی را به وضعیت موکل خود جلب و حقوق او را در مجامع بین‌المللی پیگیری کند. #محبوبه_شعبانی #زندانیان_سیاسی #نه_به_اعدام #حقوق_بشر #ایران #بهروز_اسدی #آلمان #ماده۱۸ #MahboobehShabani #HumanRights #NoToExecution #Peter_Kohlgraf #Article18

‘Labelling Christians as national-security threat’ The @UN's Special Rapporteur on #HumanRights in #Iran, @drmaisato, tells the #Article18Podcast there's only been one response to official communications regarding #Christians in #Iran and it sought to portray those arrested as a "threat to national security". 📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm… #Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran

The 5th episode of the #Article18Podcast is here, featuring the @UN's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of #HumanRights in the #IslamicRepublic of #Iran, @drmaisato. 📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm… #Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran

A Christian convert in #EvinPrison repeatedly denied treatment and medical leave despite suffering from a number of serious conditions has finally been released on a 10-day furlough, according to reports. The Persian-language Human Rights Activist News Agency reports that #MahsharParandin, who is serving a 2-year sentence on unknown charges, was granted the short leave from prison on Saturday, after a salary slip was deposited as bail. Mahshar, an artist and mother reported to be in her 50s and to be her family’s primary breadwinner, is suffering from a number of serious medical issues, which have affected her balance, mobility and speech. Article18 reported in June that she continued to be denied treatment, even after the prison’s doctor diagnosed that she needed a cardiac angiogram and surgery for two tumours, which had continued to grow during her incarceration and had put her at risk of losing sight in one of her eyes. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/248… #Article18 #ForBForAll #Iran #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship

قوه قضاییه روز شنبه، ۱۸ مهر ۱۴۰۵ با ارسال احضاریه‌ای برای #الناز_قربانی، شهروند مسیحی که پیش‌تر از ایران خارج شده است، به او و تعدادی دیگر از نوکیشان مسیحی پنج روز مهلت داد تا برای اجرای حکم پنج سال حبس خود را به زندان قرچک ورامین معرفی کند. روز ۱۵ مهر ۱۴۰۳، چهار مأمور مرد و یک مأمور زن از اطلاعات #سپاه به منزل مادر الناز قربانی در تهران یورش بردند. پیشتر الناز قربانی همراه همسرش سهراب قویدل، که وی هم نوکیش مسیحی است،در این مکان زندگی می کردند. مأموران ضمن تفتیش خانه، لپ‌تاپ، تلفن‌های همراه و دیگر وسایل شخصی ساکنان را ضبط کردند. آن‌ها همچنین قربانی را درباره فعالیت‌های مسیحی‌اش مورد بازجویی قرار دادند و به بازداشت تهدید کردند. مأموران پس از چند ساعت تفتیش و بازجویی، محل را ترک کردند. #سهراب_قویدل، هنگام یورش مأموران در سفر بود. او پس از اطلاع از این واقعه و با نگرانی از پیامدهای قضایی آن، مقدمات خروج همسرش از ایران را فراهم کرد. articleeighteen.com/fa/news/… #نوکیشان_مسیحی #ایران #مسیحیان_ایران #حقوق_بشر#ماده۱۸

A Christian convert summoned to begin a 5-year prison sentence for “promoting deviant beliefs contrary to the sacred law of Islam”, and her husband, are now outside #Iran and do not intend to return. Elnaz Ghorbani was summoned last Saturday to report to #Qarchak Women’s Prison, south of #Tehran, within five days. However, the 36-year-old has been outside the country for some time now, having been threatened with arrest following a raid by #IRGC agents on her mother’s home in Tehran in October 2024. Elnaz’s husband, 34-year-old Sohrab Ghavidel, who was not present during the raid, initially stayed behind in Iran to care for his sick father, but he too fled the country after being arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents a month later, and subjected to psychological torture during nine days in detention. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/248… #Christians #Converts #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Article18

هانا (زهرا) غلامی، نوکیش مسیحی، مشمول «عفو» شده و از گذراندن باقی‌مانده محکومیت دو سال حبس خود، به اتهاماتی مرتبط با حضور در یک #کلیسای_خانگی، معاف شده است. این نوکیش مسیحی که سه سال پیش، در آستانه کریسمس، بازداشت شده بود، در مجموع حدود نیمی از دوران محکومیت خود را سپری کرده است؛ از جمله دو ماه بازداشتی که بلافاصله پس از دستگیری تحمل کرد. هانا غلامی که در تیرماه ۱۴۰۳، همراه با سه نوکیش مسیحی دیگر به حبس محکوم شده بود، از نوامبر ۲۰۲۵ تحمل محکومیت خود را آغاز کرد. سه نوکیش مسیحی دیگر عبارت‌اند از دانیال محمدی، که ماه آینده ۶۷ ساله می‌شود؛ کوروش حسینی، پناهجوی افغانستانی حدوداً ۴۵ ساله؛ و یک نوکیش مسیحی دیگر که هویت او به‌صورت عمومی اعلام نشده است. پیشتر به این شهروند مسیحی در اوایل سال جاری میلادی، به مدت چهار ماه در مرخصی استعلاجی به سر برد. در ماه اوت نیز به او اطلاع داده شد که می‌تواند باقی‌مانده دوران محکومیت خود را در قالب «زندان باز» و با مراجعه روزانه برای کار در یک کارخانه دولتی، خارج از زندان سپری کند. articleeighteen.com/fa/news/… #نوکیش_مسیحی #مسیحیت #ایران #هانا_غلامی #ماده۱۸

Christian convert Hannah Gholami has been “pardoned” and released from the remainder of her 2-year #prison sentence on charges related to her participation in a #house_church. The 36-year-old was arrested three Christmases ago and in total served around half her sentence, including the two months she spent in detention following her arrest. Hannah began serving her sentence in November 2025, having been sentenced in July 2024 alongside three other Christian #converts: Daniel Mohammadi, who will turn 67 next month, Kourosh Hosseini, who is an Afghan #refugee in his mid-40s, and a fourth Christian who has not been publicly identified. Hannah spent four months out of prison on medical leave earlier this year, and in August was told she could serve the remainder of her sentence outside of prison, by reporting daily to work at a government-run factory. However, on 2 October, Hannah was informed that she had been “pardoned” as part of a general amnesty of prisoners. 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/248… #Iran #Christians #Converts #Place2Worship #FoRBForAll #Article18

Christian convert Ghazal Marzban is among over 20 detainees in the #women’s ward of #Evin Prison who have been denied visitors in recent months as punishment for protesting against conditions in the notorious #Tehran facility. Ghazal, who is serving a sentence of nine years and eight months on charges of “propaganda against the state" and “gathering and collusion against national security”, was denied visits for four months earlier this year, and according to a recent report from HRANA has now gone another seven weeks without a visit. A dozen prisoners, including Ghazal and the British woman Lindsay Foreman, have also been repeatedly denied the opportunity to call their family members, according to the report. Full story 👇🏻 🔗 articleeighteen.com/news/247… #Iran #Christians #Converts #GhazalMarzban #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Article18

Around 500 people walked in silence through a Dutch city two Saturdays ago to raise awareness of #persecuted_Christians, including from #Iran. The marchers for the second "Walk of Hope" carried signs bearing the names of countries including Iran, #Syria, #Pakistan, #Nigeria, and #North_Korea, to draw attention to the 388 million Christians worldwide who face persecution because of their faith. syriacpress.com/blog/2026/09… #WalkOfHope #ReligiousFreedom #HumanRights #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #Article18 @SyriacPress

كَفت وگوی حسين احمدى نياز حقوقدان و وكيل دادگسترى با صدای آمریکا احكام سنگين عليه #نوكيشان_مسيحى و نقض آزادى انتخاب دین در جمهورى اسلامى