Mehdi Rahimi, 49, and Kia Nourinia, 55, were convicted in absentia in April and found guilty under Section 500 of the Penal Code for "propaganda activities for deviant Christian Zionist beliefs contrary to the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran". They were each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
They were also convicted under Articles 22 and 24 for "smuggling prohibited goods", for which they received two years in prison and a fine. According to the Danish European Mission's partner Middle East Concern.
Iranian intelligence agents raided their home in November 2024 and found several copies of the Bible. Mehdi was out of the country at the time of the raid. Kia fled Iran shortly afterward.
They were also sentenced to 15 years of deprivation of social rights and a fine of more than DKK 6,500 each. They were also ordered to pay the court 10 times the value of the Bibles found in their possession.
Please pray for the underground church in Iran, especially in this time of military conflict with Israel due to Iran's nuclear program and the risk of the country gaining the capacity to produce a nuclear bomb.
Support Iran: Smuggling New Testaments
Through the Danish European Mission, Danes have ensured that 217,051 copies of the New Testament have been printed, smuggled and distributed in Iran and imported into neighboring countries where Iranians live between 2011 and 2024.
