In 2017, Pastor Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced to ten years in prison for his Christian ministry activities. Though pardoned and released in 2022, the pastor was suddenly rearrested on 6 February of this year.
Following this recent rearrest, Pastor Naser was held without charge and denied legal representation. As a last resort, the detained believer began a hunger strike not long after his imprisonment. Regrettably, he was found unconscious in his solitary confinement cell on 17 March. The Christian leader was subsequently rushed to hospital, where it was determined that he had suffered a stroke.
The 63-year-old convert received basic medical treatment and was provided with exercises to help regain movement on the left side of his body. Despite the physician’s recommendations for physiotherapy and continued treatment, he was then returned to prison. While Pastor Naser has since ended his hunger strike, he continues to suffer from a lack of movement in his left arm and leg.
In addition to Pastor Naser’s arrest, Pastor Joseph Shahbazian and two Christian women were also taken into custody on 6 February. Concerns are presently being raised over the fate of the two women, one of whom has since been identified as Aida. It is understood that this recently imprisoned believer is being detained in the women’s ward of the notorious Evin Prison.
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