By Lynn Arias —
Nayereh Arjaneh, a Christian convert living in Iran, began serving a five-year prison term on Dec. 23 because of her faith.
Christian converts are often targets of imprisonment, false accusations, mistreatment, and torture under the Iranian regime, with hundreds of Christ followers targeted by Iranian authorities in 2025 alone.
According to the International Society for Human Rights, “arrests, interrogations, and ill-treatment during detention were particularly brutal” in 2024.
Arjaneh and her husband, Qasem Esmaili, were arrested on July 7, 2025, after they attended a Christian training event in Turkey. She was initially released on bail and later convicted of “promoting deviant propaganda and teachings contrary to Islamic law” and “providing financial and material support to groups affiliated with Zionist Christianity.” Arjaneh received five years in prison for each offense; however, under Iranian law, she will serve both sentences concurrently.
Her husband, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy, received a prison sentence of three years and six months. Authorities have permitted him to delay his jail term for the time being due to his cancer treatments.
Muslims who leave Islam and become Christians in Iran are made to live out their faith in secret or face ostracization from their families, imprisonment, and abuse. According to the U.S. Department of State, “proselytization of religions other than Islam carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison … The law, as typically interpreted, prohibits Muslim citizens from changing or renouncing their religious beliefs.”
The executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Hadi Ghaemi, expressed concern last year for Christ followers living in the country.
“The Christian community in Iran is facing a crisis,” Ghaemi stated. “The Iranian authorities are abducting growing numbers of Christians and throwing absurd national security charges at them in order to imprison them for years for doing nothing other than peacefully practicing their faith.” — International Christian Concern
