Convert from Islam, Ebrahim Firoozi, learned in late March that an Iranian appeals court in December 2016 upheld his five-year prison sentence for crimes related to practicing his faith.
In April 2015, a judge found him guilty of ‘actions against national security, being present at an illegal gathering and collusion with foreign entities’ – all standard charges levelled against converts to Christianity in Iran – and sentenced him to five years in jail.
In 2011, security officials arrested Firoozi and held him for more than 150 days. He escaped being charged, but endured intense interrogation about his beliefs.