Two Christian prisoners held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison—known as Iran’s “torture factory”—were released last week.  

Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh, 61, was released on Oct. 17, and 51-year-old Fariba Dalir the following day.

Nasser was arrested in June 2016, along with three others, for “acting against national security” by belonging to a house church. He was sentenced to 10 years in Evin Prison, beginning in January 2018.

During his nearly 2,000 days in prison, he filed several requests for a retrial or parole, and wrote numerous open letters querying how membership of a house church could be considered an “action against national security.”

“A year ago, his elderly mother made an emotional video plea for his release, saying she was afraid she would die without seeing her son,” said an article on Open Doors USA’s website. “Still, Nasser languished another 440 days until, in a surprise move … he was pardoned and released!” He immediately stunned his family with a phone call asking them to pick him up from prison. 

Fariba, a wife, mother and house church planter, was one of six Christian converts arrested in July 2021. She was charged with “acting against national security by establishing and leading an evangelical Christian church.” Her husband, Saroush, was also arrested and sentenced to 10 months in jail for membership in the church. Fariba spent more than 200 days in detainment, including over a month in solitary confinement. Her sentence began on April 16, Easter Sunday, of this year. 

“Upon her release, Fariba returned to her overjoyed husband, Saroush, and their daughter Arezoo,” Open Doors said. “Despite their happiness in being together, the three also realize that things are very dangerous still for those left behind in Evin.”

Fariba, Soroush and Arezoo, who is in her early 20s, were said to be ecstatic at their reunion, while also recognizing the increasingly difficult and dangerous predicament facing those who remain in the prison.

The two Christians’ release from Evin came days after chaotic scenes in the prison, as fire spread through ward 7, claiming the lives of at least four prisoners. 

Protests have raged across Iran for a month, after a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, 22, was arrested for wearing her head scarf “improperly” and died in police custody. The attack on the prison, a focus of outrage among civilian protesters, inadvertently put prisoners in danger.

None of the dozen Christian prisoners of conscience were hurt, but one family member told Article18: “It was a hellish night for us. We were completely in the dark about what was happening. Then, when we were finally able to speak [to our loved one], we heard the sound of shooting and then the phone was disconnected. We wept until the morning.”

Reacting to the news, Article18’s director, Mansour Borji, said: “While we celebrate the recent release of Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Fariba Dalir, we remain deeply concerned for the health and security of all those who remain in Evin Prison.

Article18 knows of at least 10 such Christian prisoners of conscience still in Evin, and eight more in other prisons across the country, or in exile. The actual figure is likely to be higher, as not all cases are publicly reported. 

Borji added: “It is not difficult to assume that the recent releases may be an attempt by the Iranian government to deflect attention from the disturbing reports of the events at Evin on Saturday night, which claimed several lives. And while to date over 9,000 protesters are said to have been arrested and more than 800 detainees have been identified, Iran’s overcrowded prisons remain incredibly high risk places to be.”