Faith Under Fire: Mojdeh's Imprisonment After Her Sisters' Arrest

Written by:  Article18 and Johannes Morken  Photo: Article18 

Mojdeh Falahi (36) has two older sisters who were arrested five years ago for their Christian activities. Mojdeh was also arrested on 9 September. She was taken to the prosecutor's office in Shiraz. No one has heard from her since. 

Article18 understands that she is being held in Pelak-e 100 prison, which is under the control of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. 

Went to meet a Christian friend in prison 

According to a source close to the case, Mojdeh, a hairdresser, had gone to the prosecutor's office around midday. A Christian friend who had been arrested the day before had asked her to bring some documents he needed to apply for his release. 

But when she arrived, Mojdeh was immediately arrested herself. She is now being held on charges of 'Christianity' and 'illegal Christian activities'. 

Mojdeh has been a Christian for years," Article18's source explains, "although her activities have never been extensive. 

Denied visitation 

Mojdeh's family has visited the prosecutor's office several times since her arrest, asking to see her. But they have been denied. Mojdeh has also not been given a lawyer. 

Mojdeh's sisters, Maryam and Marjan, were part of a group of eight Christian converts who were arrested in Bushehr, 300 km west of Shiraz, in July 2019. One year later, Maryam and Marjan were fined 8 million tomans (around 400 USD) and 6 million tomans (around 800 USD) respectively. 

Banned from her job 

At the same time, Maryam, a nurse, was permanently banned from working in any state institution. This included the hospital where she had worked for 20 years. 

In a separate court case later that year, a judge ruled that Maryam and her husband, Sam Khosravi, should be stripped of parental rights to their adopted daughter, Lydia, because they were Christians. Lydia, whose origins were unknown, was presumed to be Muslim. 

The mother is traumatised 

Mansour Borji, Director of Article18, said: 'Mojdeh's mother, now in her 60s, was deeply traumatised by the arrest of two of her daughters five years ago because of their Christian faith. She has never fully recovered from the pain and anxiety caused by their imprisonment. Now she is being forced to relive the nightmare after her third daughter was also arrested. 

Borji adds: What the Iranian authorities fail to realise is that every arrest shatters not just one life, but entire families. Each cruel act reverberates through generations, leaving scars that may never heal, simply because these people are committed to their Christian faith. 

Every cruel act reverberates through generations, leaving scars that may never heal, simply because these people are committed to their Christian faith. 
Mansour Borji, Article18 

Iranian regime lies 

The Iranian authorities themselves deny that they imprison people for their faith. This can be confirmed as one of their thousands of lies,' says Anoosheh Ashori in an interview with Article18. Because I have met these people,' he says. 

Spent four years in a notorious prison 

Ashori spent more than four years in Evin Prison in Tehran. One of the prisoners he was with was Yasser Akbari, who is still in prison. 

Ashori says it is because of Akbari's case that he agreed to be interviewed. Ashori became friends with Akbari in prison and describes him as a 'wonderful person.' He speaks of Akbari's pain following the death of his son. Akbari, who is a sole provider, was deeply affected by the loss of his only son, Amir Ali, who died in a care facility after his father was imprisoned. 

A recent UN report confirms that Iran's persecution based on gender, ethnicity, and religion intersects with one another. 

Widespread 

Article18 recently published material from hacked documents from the Tehran judiciary. Among the documents was information about the arrest and prosecution of 300 Christians in the Tehran area alone. Ninety per cent of them are converts. They were accused of 'propaganda against the state', membership of 'groups threatening security (house churches) and gatherings conspiring against national security' and 'disturbing public peace and order'. 

The hacked documents also revealed that far more Christians have been arrested than previously known. For Article 18, 58 per cent of cases were unknown. 

80-year-old sentenced to five years in prison 

One of the cases in the hacked material concerns Alexander B. He was almost 80 years old when he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022. He managed to leave the country and reach the US before being imprisoned. 

Alexander B. was convicted of, among other things, 'being a member of a community called the House Church of Zionist Evangelical Christianity with the aim of disturbing the security of the country'. 

The meetings were described as 'a conspiracy against the country's security'. 

‘The material shows that it is not true that Iran does not persecute people for their faith,' says Borji.