The Supreme Court of Iran has rejected the retrial request of the Christians arrested for their Christian faith

Iran's Supreme Court has rejected a request for a retrial of Christian converts arrested for accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord in the Islamic-majority nation of Iran. The court rejected the applications of Anshuan Avedian, Abbas Sauri, Fariba Dalir and Mary Mohammadi. The court rejected the applications of Avedian and Sauri without any reason. Avedian and Sauri, who were part of a group of 18 Christians, were arrested in November 2020 along with another Christian, Mary Mohammadi. During the house search, their Bibles and cell phones were seized.

On May 22, Avedian was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Souri and Mohammadi were sentenced to 10 years of denial of social rights on charges of spreading propaganda against Islam. Later, when their appeal was considered, Avedian was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and 10 years of deprivation of social rights. Mary Mohammadi received the notice that her retrial application was rejected last July.

At the same time, the lawyers say that the evidence provided by them was not properly examined by the appeal court. The Supreme Court also rejected the plea of ​​Fariba Dalir, who was arrested by Islamic Revolutionary Guards along with 6 Christians in July last year. Fariba Dalir was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by the same judge who heard the trial of Avedian and Sauri. But then it was reduced to two years. The Supreme Court also rejected the parole plea of ​​Dalir, who has been serving his sentence since April 16.

Iran's regime continues its persecution of Christians, especially those who abandon Islam and convert to Christianity. Many Christians, including women, are in prisons because of their faith in Christ. Various reports indicate that the Christian faith is flourishing in Iran despite the growing religious persecution. Iran's Intelligence Minister Mohammad Alavi revealed while addressing the Shia Muslim clerics that the number of converts to Christianity is increasing at a large rate.