ICC Note: Another Iranian Christian has been sentenced to prison on charges related to his Christian faith. Hossein Saketi was sentenced to one year in prison for Christian activities. Hossein is a Farsi-speaking Christian. The Iranian regime has been increasingly hostile towards Christians who speak Farsi and has recently barred another church from allowing them to even attend services.
01/05/2014 Iran (Mohabat News) – According to Mohabat News, Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced Hossein Saketi Aramsari to one year of imprisonment. Hossein Saketi is a Farsi-speaking Christian convert. Judge Asef Hosseini convicted him in Branch 1 of Revolutionary Court in Karaj.
The court delivered the sentence to Mr. Saketi orally.
Human Rights activists report that Mr. Saketi appeared before court several times before receiving his final prison sentence. The court sentenced him to a year in prison, while earlier he was granted bail for conditional release. However, for unknown reasons, judicial authorities prevented his family from posting the bail for his conditional freedom.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence had arrested Mr. Saketi on July 23, 2013 in Golestan province.
Hossein Saketi, whose friends call him Stephen, was then transferred to a jail in Jajrom county and from there to the Intelligence Office in Bojnord, in the Northern Khorasan province.
After 15 days in solitary confinement, and after Mr. Saketi made the claim that the court in Bojnord did not have the required jurisdiction to judge him, his case was transferred to Alborz province Revolutionary Court.
The charges mentioned in his case were Christian evangelism-related.
This Christian believer was handed over to the Intelligence Office in Karaj on August 6. He was held in solitary confinement in ward 8 of Rajaei-Shahr prison until October 26 and eventually taken to ward 7 of Karaj Central Detention House, where he is being held today.
While Christians all around the world celebrated Christmas and New Year, many Christian families in Iran missed their loved ones who are in prison.
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