On 8 March, 42-year-old Somayeh Rajabi was released from Mati Kola Prison in Babol, Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. The Christian convert had to submit a bail of 4 billion tomans (equivalent to around €36,000) after being charged with “gathering and collusion” and “propaganda against the regime”.
Somayeh had been arrested on 6 February in a raid on a large gathering of Christians in a private garden in Gatab, also in Mazandaran province by at least twenty officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
During the raid, the officers confiscated Bibles, musical instruments and communication devices, demanding access to personal details and phone passwords. They also conducted body searches, singling out those wearing cross necklaces and forcibly tearing them off, injuring several individuals.
Somayeh was permitted a brief phone call to her family one day after her arrest, informing them that she had been transferred to a prison in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province. The days following arrest can be extremely difficult and frightening for Christian prisoners as they often face severe interrogations designed to terrify the prisoner into revealing information about Christian associates. Mohabat News reported that Somayeh was later transferred to the prison in Babol when her interrogations were completed.
Following her release Mansour Borji, director of Church in Chains partner Article18, commented as follows:
“Setting exorbitantly high bail amounts for Christians detained solely for exercising their lawful right to religious freedom is a cruel and oppressive tactic, especially amid Iran’s ongoing economic crisis. While millions of Iranians struggle with severe austerity, the government exploits their financial hardship to further punish and silence religious minorities.
“This practice not only deprives detainees of their liberty but also inflicts immense economic and emotional strain on their families, effectively weaponising poverty against them. Such targeted persecution underscores the regime’s use of financial barriers to suppress religious diversity and intimidate those who dare to worship freely.”
(Article 18 and Mohabat News)
Photo Credit: Mohabat News