Narges Nasri
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 16 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: November/1/2024
Date of Sentencing: March/1/2025
Current Status: Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Online Activity Possession of Religious Materials Practicing Religion as a Convert
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Narges Nasri
Extra Bio Info:
Narges Nasri was detained for her religious conversion.
In November 2024, Iranian intelligence authorities detained Nasri after raiding her Tehran home, during which they confiscated personal belongings and worship materials. She was briefly held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison and eventually released on bail after a series of interrogations.
In March 2025, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehrain sentenced her in absentia to 16 years' imprisonment for purported violations of Iran's penal code, including 10 years for "propaganda activities contrary to Islamic law" (Article 500), five years for membership of an opposition group for her house-church activity (Article 499), and one year for "propaganda against the state" (Article 500) for social media posts in support of protests against the government's religiously grounded mandatory hijab law.
In April 2025, Branch 36 of the Tehran appeal court upheld Nasri's prison sentence. Pregnant with her first child, Nasri had fled Iran by the time the decision was announced.
Publicly Available Information:
- "Tehran court rejects appeals of converts sentenced to a combined 40 years in prison" Article 18
- "Narges Nasri, Abbas Soori and Mehran Shamloui were informed on 7 May that their appeal was rejected and they had five days to turn themselves in to Evin Prison to start serving their combined prison sentences of more than 40 years." Middle East Concern