ICC Note: A court in Iran has sentenced three Iranian Christian men to 80 lashes each for consuming alcohol during communion. Two of them have been found guilty of this crime in the past. This particularly concerning because if found guilty a third time of this offense, the two could face execution by Iranian Law. The verdict came after a hearing that reportedly lasted a mere ten minutes last month.

10/10/2016 Iran (CSW): Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mehdi Reza Omidi (Youhan) have been sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking wine during a communion service.

A court in the Iranian city of Rasht has sentenced Church of Iran members Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mehdi Reza Omidi (Youhan) to 80 lashes each after finding them guilty of drinking wine during a communion service. The verdict follows a hearing that took place on 10 September that lasted for 10 minutes.

This is the second time that Mr Fadaie and Mr Omidi have been found guilty of consuming alcohol during a Communion service. They are appealing the sentence, which allows for the execution of third-time offenders.  All three men are converts from Islam.

Commenting on the sentences, sources close to CSW highlighted a recent increase in repression, adding that in the absence of apostasy legislation, the Iranian authorities appear to be making use of this provision to deter or punish anyone who changes religion.

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