ICC Note: Pastor Farshid Fathi has reportedly been transferred from the political wing of Evin prison in Tehran to the criminal ward of Rajaei Shahr prison in Karaj, Iran. The pastor was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to six years in prison for his work among the Iranian house churches. The reason for his transfer is unknown. He now joins American Pastor Saeed Abedini who is also being held in Rajaei Shahr prison, and the threats they face from criminals, including ISIS-linked extremists are extremely concerning.
08/24/2014 Iran (Mohabat News) – Pastor Farshid Fathi was transferred out of ward 350 of Evin prison, and into Rajaei-Shahri prison of Karaj for unknown reasons.
According to Mohabat News, Farshid Fathi, a Christian convert and house-church leader, was transferred to ward 10 of the Rajaei-Shahr prison from ward 350 of Evin prison on Tuesday morning, August 19.
In this regard, a knowledgeable source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Ward 10 of Rajaei-Shahr prison is isolated from other prison buildings and holds the most dangerous criminals. Farshid’s transfer to that ward is against Iran’s own prison laws that demand separation of different criminal categories”.
The Revolutionary Court sentenced Pastor Farshid Fathi, 35, to six years in prison for “being the chief-director of foreign organizations in Iran and gathering funds for these organizations”. Just like other Christian cases in Iran, Pastor Fathi’s case was also marked as political, although the only reason for his arrest is his faith in Christ.
Pastor Fathi had been arrested on December 26, 2010, as Iranian security authorities carried out a pre-planned raid to crack-down on Christians near Christmas. Many Christians in Tehran and other cities across Iran were arrested as part of the same attack.
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