07/20/2020 Iran (International Christian Concern) – Following the recent overturning of his three-year sentence, Iranian Christian convert Ismaeil Maghrebinejad has lost his appeals against his two remaining prison sentences. Earlier this year, he was charged with both one year for “propaganda against the state” and two years for “membership of a group hostile to the regime.”

The sentence for the propaganda charge was reduced in accordance with a recent amendment, which had reduced the jail term for the charge to a maximum of eight months. However, this likely will not affect Ismaeil’s case, as the defendant is usually required to serve the longer sentence. In this case, that would be the two-year sentence for group membership.

Iran continues to arrest and charge Christians solely for their religious activities, and remains one of the top violators of religious freedom in the world. Despite having done nothing but practice his faith, Ismaeil can now expect to be summoned to prison at any time.

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