Published on: 22 May 2023
DOHI NEWS
On May 9th, during a retrial hearing at the 34th branch of the Tehran appellate court, a judge acquitted both Sara Ahmadi and her husband, Homayoun Zhaveh. They were ordered by the court to be released from custody that same day.
Picture by ArticleEighteen
Sara and Homayoun were first arrested in 2019 while vacationing with other Christian families at the Caspian Sea and eventually sentenced in 2020 to a total of ten years in prison (eight years for Sara and 2 years for Homayoun) for their membership in an “illegal organization” and for Sara’s leadership activities in the house church.
Previously, two requests for a retrial were rejected by the courts.
In this month’s ruling, the judge pointed out that it is only “natural” that people of the same faith would gather together. He added that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that Sara and Homayoun had acted in any way against the country’s national security when they gathered with fellow Christians in their homes.
Specifically, “The reports by the officers of the Ministry of Intelligence about organisation of home-groups to promote Christianity, membership, and participation in home-groups, are not considered as acts against the country’s security, and the law has not recognised them as criminal activity,” the judge stated.
