A Christian woman detained in Iran without charge since September 9 sobbed uncontrollably for five minutes. According to a relative, her mother was able to see her on September 30.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detained Mojdeh Falahi, a 36-year-old recent convert to Islam after she went to the prosecutor’s office in Shiraz to help a Christian who was in custody obtain release paperwork.
During the visit on Monday, the second by her mother, Falahi wept inconsolably, and her family is worried about mistreatment by authorities and the conditions of her confinement, said Sam Khosravi, Falahi’s brother-in-law.
“Psychologically, she is in a terrible condition and only cries,” Khosravi told Morning Star News.
According to Khosravi, Falahi, a hairdresser, has been transferred to the Pelak-e 100 Detention Center, a prison run by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
Even though Falahi is not under arrest, her family feels that intelligence agents are questioning her extensively to obtain information about other Christians. Family members are upset because Falahi was detained for more than ten days, which is not typical for investigations involving most Christian women, according to Khosravi.
“Mojdeh’s mother goes to the court every day to pursue the case and asks the judge to release her,” Khosravi said on Monday (September 30). “She went to the court today, and after much begging, the judge allowed her to see Mojdeh.”
Relatives are expressing concern regarding her detention as she does not hold a leadership position in any church and is less likely to possess information about other Christians, according to Khosravi. She does not have access to legal representation.
Before Monday, the family went to the prosecutor’s office several times to request a visit but could only talk with Falahi briefly by phone and see her in person once for three minutes.
Iranian officials offered family members, including Falahi’s mother, more visitation time if they would encourage her to give them more information, Khosravi said, but the family refused.
Relatives have been unable to determine the exact conditions of Falahi’s detention because she is unable to speak openly during their visits, Khosravi said.
“We have observed her, but we are uncertain about her exact circumstances,” he stated. “We are concerned and curious about why they have retained her for such a prolonged period.”
According to Khosravi, the main concern among relatives is that Falahi’s abuse by Iranian authorities may cause lifelong psychological damage. He, along with Falahi’s elder siblings, his wife, and his sister-in-law, was jailed for their faith, so he has personal experience with the treatment of imprisoned converts by the Iranian government.
Agents from the Ministry of Intelligence arrested Khosravi in Bushehr along with his wife, Maryam Falahi, his brother Sasan and wife, Marjan Falahi, and four others in raids on house churches and converts from Islam.
The government detained eight converts in total and eventually found all but one of those arrested guilty of “propaganda against the state.”
They received various sentences, including prison time, fines, banishment from Bushehr, and disqualification from certain types of employment. Maryam Falahi, a nurse, was banned from working for any national hospital.
Most wrenching was an Iranian court’s decision in September 2020 to terminate Khosravi Falahi’s custody of their adopted daughter, Lydia, because they were Christians, he said. Lydia, being of unknown parentage, was considered Muslim by the Iranian government.
According to Khosravi, the goal of incarceration is not always to punish or obtain information but rather to break a prisoner, leaving them utterly and permanently broken. The intention is either to scare other Muslim converts or to make them renounce their faith.
Khosravi recounted a story about a fellow Christian who, even years after her release, refused to go near places of worship because of the terrible treatment she had endured.
Another Christian individual claimed that the guards convinced him that his wife was being repeatedly sexually assaulted by coercing him to listen to the cries of a woman in a nearby cell.
“It’s all about humiliation,” Khosravi said. “There will be things in their mind and heart they will never get over.”
Falahi’s mother has been the one most affected by the detention.
“Her situation is not good,” Khosravi said. “She has become like a person with Alzheimer’s. She’ll do something once, forget, and then do it again. She is under much pressure.”
Khosravi is currently in hiding to avoid detection by Iranian authorities. According to the Christian support organization Open Doors, Iran was ranked ninth on the 2024 World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 countries where it is most challenging to practice Christianity.
The report highlighted the increasing involvement of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in carrying out raids on house churches and a higher frequency of violent acts during arrests and interrogations.
