Article By Morning Star News
Conditions in Iran for Christians imprisoned for their faith and other inmates have deteriorated dramatically since the U.S. and Israeli bombing of the Islamic regime in the past month, according to human rights groups.
Guards and some prison officials across the country have largely abandoned their posts, leaving hardliners from the paramilitary group known as the “Counter-Terrorism Special Force” (Nīrū-yi Vizhe-yi Pād Vahshat, or NOPO) in charge, rights groups say.
In a statement on X, the wife of a political prisoner at Evin Prison in Tehran, Mostafa Mohammadhasan, confirmed that NOPO has taken control of that prison.
“The situation at Evin Prison is very bad,” she posted. “The prison is now in the hands of NOPO forces. They have completely closed the gates, and all prison officials have left. Obtaining food has become very difficult and there is no (prison) shop anymore.”
Prison officials have cancelled family visits and denied medical care to prisoners, and they are now “being fed just one small, low-quality meal a day,” according to Article 18, which advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians in Iran.
Even under normal circumstances, Iranian prisons are known for serious human rights violations, including torture of Christians held for their faith and other prisoners of conscience.
NOPO control of prisons is cause for serious concern among rights activists and advocates for religious freedom, as the counter-terrorism force group is responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in Iran. Those include the deaths of hundreds of Iranians protesting against high gas prices or the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman brutalized in custody after Iran’s morality police arrested her by for failing to wear a government mandated head-covering in public.
The leadership of NOPO has been sanctioned by both the U.S. government and the European Union. According to a statement issued in 2021 by the U.S. Treasury Department, NOPO “used excessive and lethal force [at protests], firing upon unarmed protestors, including women and children, with automatic weapons. NOPO forces blocked main streets with armed vehicles and fired randomly at crowds with heavy machine guns.”
Another advocacy group, Middle East Concern (MEC), reported that the Iranian government is “also subjecting prisoners to enforced disappearance.”
“Some prisoners have been transferred to unidentified locations or areas near potential military objectives, intensifying concerns for their safety,” a MEC press statement reads. “Family members of Christians held in Evin Prison have expressed their concerns at the lack of news as calls from prison have become very rare.”
When the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign began, there were at least 48 Christians in prisons scattered across Iran serving sentences on charges related to their religious beliefs or activities, including at least 16 in Evin Prison.
One convert at Evin Prison who was set to be released prior to the war to serve her sentence under house arrest has been held incommunicado since the bombing began. Her family has expressed concern for her safety.
Simin Soheilinia, 48, sentenced in October 2020 for “acting against national security by establishing and leading an illegal Christian house church,” was recently allowed to serve her prison term at home with an electronic monitoring device after her original 10-year sentence was reduced on retrial, first to six years and then to three years and six months. She has yet to be released.
Soheilinia has been held in prison since September. She was arrested on her return to Iran from Canada, where she had sought asylum after her sentencing. Soheilinia returned to Iran following the death of her father and after receiving bad news on her mother’s terminal illness, according to Article 18.
Soheilinia was first arrested in January 2019 with three other converts during coordinated raids by intelligence officers on their homes in Tehran. In October 2020, the Christians were sentenced to a combined 35 years in prison. Later, their sentences were reduced and they were released from prison.
Soheilinia’s arrest upon return to Iran was part of a trend of Iranian Christians being arrested and imprisoned upon returning from another country. This trend was highlighted in Article 18’s 2026 annual report, in which the group argued that “the possibility of arrest and prosecution for Christian activities overseas needs to be seriously taken into consideration by immigration authorities assessing the asylum claims.”
Iran ranked 10th on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.
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