In good news from Iran, Anooshavan Avedian – a pastor who has been serving a ten-year prison sentence for leading a house church in Iran – has been acquitted and released. He had spent just over a year in prison.
Last year, the UN Human Rights Committee called on Iran to ‘immediately release those imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief’, and ensure they are provided with ‘adequate compensation’. Additionally, our partners at Article18 also called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release Anooshavan, among with other Christian prisoners of conscience, as part of their latest joint submission to the UN in July.
At least 21 other Christians are currently serving sentences related to their faith, including at least ten in Evin Prison. Among them is Hakop Gochumyan, an Armenian citizen who is serving his own ten-year sentence for allegedly engaging in ‘deviant proselytising’.
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