A 61-year-old Christian woman has been released from prison after spending almost two years in an Iranian jail.
Mina Khajavi, who suffers from arthritis and chronic pain following an accident, was arrested in 2020 for her involvement with a house church in the Yaftabad district.
Khajavi was initially sentenced to six years in prison for “acting against national security” through her leadership of a house church. The start of her sentence was delayed after she was run over by a car and required surgery to have metal plates fitted in her ankle.
During her time in prison, Khajavi did not receive adequate medical care and was only given occasional painkillers.
She was sentenced in 2022 alongside another female Christian convert, Malihe Nazari, who also received a six-year sentence, and their Iranian-Armenian pastor, Joseph Shahbazian, who was sentenced to 10 years.
Khajavi was released from Evin Prison in Tehran on Monday, having completed her full term after her sentence was reduced from six to two years to account for previous time spent in detention.
According to Church in Chains, the arrests in Yaftabad were the first in a series of coordinated raids on house churches in Tehran, Karaj, and Malayer in the summer of 2020. It is believed an informant tipped off the authorities about the house church.
While ethnic Christians—such as Armenians and Assyrians—are generally protected under Iranian law, those who convert from Islam face much greater legal risk. House churches, in particular, are viewed by the authorities as “acting against national security” under articles 498 and 499, which can result in arrest, imprisonment, and fines.