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Iran persecution: Three Christians sentenced to five years imprisonment for “propaganda”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – As Iran continues a relentless campaign of persecution against Iranian believers, on June 26 the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, northern Iran sentenced three Christians to five years in jail for “engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime,” Christians Worldwide Solidarity reports.

Iran ranks 8 on the US Open Doors World Watch List of countries that persecute Christians; its persecution level is “extreme,” Open Doors states on its website. Christians from a Muslim background are most susceptible to persecution because Open Doors says: “The Iranian government sees the conversion of Muslims to Christianity as an attempt by Western countries to undermine the Islamic rule of Iran. Christians from a Muslim background are persecuted the most.”

Accordingly, Open Doors reports: “Secret churches are often raided, and their leaders and members have been arrested and given long prison sentences for “crimes against national security.”

The three Christians sentenced on June 26 are Amin Khaki, Milad Goudarzi, and Alireza Nourmohammadi, CSW reports. The men were tried on June 21, reportedly after being denied legal representation. All three are appealing their conviction and sentence.

CSW Founder President Mervyn Thomas said in a statement: “The campaign of harassment against Iranian Christians is unrelenting, as these baseless charges against these three men, under a new clause in the penal code, demonstrate…We urge the Iranian authorities to release all prisoners detained on account of their religion or belief, and to end the relentless campaign of harassment of Christians and other religious minorities through the judicial system.”