On 18 May, a court upheld a verdict issued against Iranian Christians Saheb Fadaie and Fatemeh Bakhteri for ‘spreading propaganda against the regime’.
Both were given prison sentences, and Mr Fadaie received an additional two years of internal exile in Nehbandan, a remote area close to the border with Afghanistan. Local sources reported that the verdict confirming the sentences claimed that discussions of Christian doctrine held in house churches were considered attacks on Islam.
During their final appeal hearing in January, Mr Fadaie and Ms Bakhteri were asked by presiding judges Hassan Babaee and Ahmad Zargar to renounce their faith, but had refused to do so.
