Pastor Matthias Haghnejad is a Christian convert who has been imprisoned several times because of his house-church activities in the Church of Iran. He is currently serving a six-year sentence for “propagating Christianity” and previously served nearly three years of a separate five-year prison sentence for “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”, charges of which he was acquitted in February 2022.
LATEST NEWS (DECEMBER 2023): Pastor Matthias returned to prison in Minab after his first visit home since being transferred without warning and with no time to say goodbye to his wife and daughter in July 2023. He had to pay for his travel expenses to return home to Anzali, 1,600 km from Minab.
Pastor Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad (49), known as Matthias, is a Christian convert from Bandar Anzali in Gilan province, northern Iran, who has a history of arrest dating back to 2006. He has served time in several prisons because of his house-church activities in the Church of Iran and is currently serving a six-year sentence handed down in 2012 for “propagating Christianity”. Matthias was acquitted of this charge on appeal in 2014 but his acquittal was overruled in January 2022 and he was sent back to prison.
Matthias previously served nearly three years of a separate five-year prison sentence for “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity” from February 2019 to December 2021. He was acquitted in February 2022 but remained in prison serving his reinstated six-year sentence.
2012 – 2014: Sentenced and acquitted
In October 2012, Matthias and fellow member of the Church of Iran Reza Rabbani (known as Silas) were sentenced to six years each in prison for “propagating Christianity”. The court ruled that they should serve their sentences in the southern city of Minab, located at the far end of the country from their homes.
Before they began serving their sentences, however, Silas was arrested during a raid on his home in Karaj in May 2014 and Matthias was arrested two months later at his home in Bandar Anzali. On 17 September 2014 they were charged with the more serious crimes of “moharebeh” (waging war against God) and “spreading corruption on Earth”, but an appeals court in Karaj acquitted them of all charges on 14 December 2014.
2019: Arrested in raid, imprisoned
On 10 February 2019 Revolutionary Guard agents carried out a raid on Matthias’ home in which they confiscated Bibles and mobile phones and took the pastor into detention. Eight other church members, also converts to Christianity, were arrested between 31 January and 23 February 2019.
At a preliminary hearing on 24 July 2019 Matthias and the eight other Christians were accused of “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. Judge Mohammed Moghiseh rejected the lawyer representing five of the defendants, including Matthias, and when they rejected an alternate appointed by the court and insisted upon being defended by their own lawyer, the judge was so angry that he increased the five dependants’ bail tenfold. They could not pay it and were transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran.
A brief trial was held on 23 September 2019 and on 13 October 2019 all nine were sentenced to five years each in prison for “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. Matthias remained in detention along with Shahrooz Eslamdoust, Mehdi Khatibi, Behnam Akhlaghi and Babak Hosseinzadeh, while the other four – Mohammed Vafadar, Kamal Naamanian, Hossein Kadivar and Khalil Dehghanpour – were conditionally released pending their appeal.
The nine Christians’ appeal was rejected on 25 February 2020 and the four Christians who had been released on bail were summoned to Evin Prison to join the other five.
On 17 August 2021, after a short furlough, Matthias was transferred to Anzali Prison, closer to his family home.
Supreme Court orders retrial
On 3 November 2021 the Supreme Court made a historic ruling that belonging to a house church and promoting Christianity should not be considered “acts against national security”.
The ruling stated: “Merely preaching Christianity, and promoting the ‘Evangelical Zionist sect’, both of which apparently means propagating Christianity through family gatherings [house churches] is not a manifestation of gathering and collusion to disrupt the security of the country, whether internally or externally.” It added that “The promotion of Christianity and the formation of a house church is not criminalised in law”.
In line with this ruling, on 24 November the Supreme Court ordered a review of the nine Christians’ case. It stated again that involvement in house churches should not be considered a crime against national security and ordered a retrial at a Revolutionary Court. The nine men were released on bail: Matthias from Anzali Prison on 30 December and the other eight from Evin Prison on 1 January.
Rearrested
Just two weeks later, however, on 15 January 2022 the pastor was unexpectedly summoned to the Office for the Execution of Judgments in Bandar Anzali to be re-arrested on a charge of “propagating Christianity” and sent back to Anzali Prison. In prison he discovered that the judicial head of the Supreme Court in Karaj had overturned the 2014 appeal court ruling that had acquitted him. The Supreme Court judge described him as an “enemy of the state” and reinstated his sentence.
Acquitted of 2019 conviction
Separately, the retrial for Matthias and his eight fellow Christians took place on 22 February 2022 at Branch 34 of the Tehran Court of Appeal. On 28 February the verdict was issued: the court acquitted them of their 2019 conviction for “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”.
Judges Seyed Ali Asghar Kamali and Akbar Johari found there was “no positive evidence to validate the crime of acting against the security of the country in the case”. They referred to explanations from the Christians’ lawyers that “the defendants, according to the teachings of Christianity, worshipped and praised in the house church” and that Christians are taught to live in “obedience, submission and support of the authorities”.
Christmas arrests
Matthias had to remain in prison to continue serving his previous six-year sentence, but in July 2022 he was granted a furlough from prison, which was extended several times. He was still on leave on 26 December 2022 when he was rearrested in a raid on a Christmas celebration in the home of fellow-Christian Amir R in Bandar Anzali. Matthias, Amir and a third church member, Masoud V, were taken to Lakan Prison in Rasht, capital of Gilan province, around 40 km from Bandar Anzali. Before his transfer to prison Matthias was taken to his home, which was searched and personal items were confiscated, including laptops and anything connected with Christianity.
On 3 January 2023 Matthias’ wife Anahita Khademi was summoned for questioning at the intelligence offices in Bandar Anzali, where she was also arrested and transferred to Lakan Prison. Family friends were concerned about the impact that imprisonment could have on Anahita’s health, as she has chronic back pain, and on the couple’s teenage daughter Hannah, but Anahita (pictured) was released on bail on 28 January. Before her release she was informed that the charges against her were “propagating Christianity”, “disturbing public opinion” and “propaganda against the state“. Masoud and Amir, the two church members arrested with Matthias, were also released on bail.
Transferred to remote prison
Matthias was transferred from Lackan Prison back to the prison in his home city of Bandar Anzali, but on 9 July 2023 he was again transferred, to a prison 1,600 km from his home and family. Matthias was taken to the airport in Rasht without a chance to say goodbye to Anahita and Hannah and was flown to the city of Minab in the far south to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence – the sentence had stipulated that he be imprisoned in Minab, but this had not been enforced.
Iranian authorities sometimes order that detainees, especially prisoners of conscience, be imprisoned in remote places or be placed there in “internal exile” after release as an extra punishment.
New charges
In a separate development, in July 2023 Matthias and fellow Church of Iran pastor Youcef Nadarkhani were informed that they would face new, unspecified charges following an official complaint by a Church of Iran couple who accused them of “attempting to undermine national security”. The complaint is believed to have been made under police pressure, which caused the couple to fear that their two sons would be taken away.
Family
Matthias and his wife Anahita Khademi have a teenage daughter, Hannah. Anahita was arrested in January 2023 on charges of “propagating Christianity”, “disturbing public opinion” and “propaganda against the state” and spent three weeks in prison before being released in bail. She had been arrested previously and was among eleven converts charged with apostasy more than a decade ago before their eventual acquittal.
TIMELINE
October 2012 Matthias was sentenced to six years in prison for “propagating Christianity”.
July 2014 Before commencing his sentence, Matthias was arrested at his home.
17 September 2014 The pastor was charged with “moharebeh” (waging war against God) and “spreading corruption on Earth”.
14 December 2014 Matthias was acquitted on appeal.
10 February 2019 Matthias was arrested in a raid on his home. Eight other church members were arrested between 31 January and 23 February 2019.
24 July 2019 At a preliminary hearing, Matthias and the eight other Christians were accused of “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”.
23 September 2019 A brief trial was held.
13 October 2019 The nine men were sentenced to five years each in prison for “acting against national security”.
25 February 2020 The nine Christians lost their appeal.
17 August 2021 After a short furlough, Matthias was transferred from Evin prison to Anzali prison, closer to his family home.
3 November 2021 The Supreme Court made a historic ruling that belonging to a house church and promoting Christianity should not be considered “acts against national security”.
24 November 2021 The Supreme Court ordered a review of the nine men’s cases, ordering that they be retried at a Revolutionary Court.
30 December 2021 Matthias was released on bail from Anzali Prison. His eight co-accused were released on bail from Evin Prison on 1 January 2022.
15 January 2022 Matthias was summoned to the Office for the Execution of Judgments in Bandar Anzali, rearrested on a charge of “propagating Christianity” and returned to Anzali Prison – the Supreme Court in Karaj had overturned his 2014 appeal court acquittal.
22 February 2022 Matthias and his eight fellow Christians stood trial at Branch 34 of the Tehran Court of Appeal.
28 February 2022 The court issued its verdict, acquitting them of their 2019 conviction of “acting against national security” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”.
July 2022 Matthias was granted a furlough from prison, where he was serving his previous six-year sentence. His furlough was extended several times.
26 December 2022 Matthias was still on leave when he was rearrested in a raid on a Christmas celebration in Bandar Anzali. He was transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht.
3 January 2023 Matthias’ wife Anahita Khademi was arrested and transferred to Lakan Prison.
28 January 2023 Anahita was released on bail.
9 July 2023 Matthias was transferred from prison in his home city of Bandar Anzali to a prison in the remote southern city of Minab, 1,600 km from his home and family, to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was transferred without warning and with no time to say goodbye to his wife and daughter.
July 2023 Matthias and fellow Church of Iran pastor Youcef Nadarkhani were informed that they would face new, unspecified charges following an official complaint by a Church of Iran couple who accused them of “attempting to undermine national security”. The complaint is believed to have been made under police pressure.
December 2023 Pastor Matthias returned to prison in Minab after his first visit home since being transferred in July 2023. He had to pay for his travel expenses to return home to Anzali.
Read more about the persecution of Christians in Iran.
(Article 18, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, USCIRF)
Photos: Article 18