In September 2010, Mojtaba and two other Christians were arrested while meeting a friend in the city of Arak to teach him about Christianity.

Mojtaba spent the next 170 days in detention, including a week in solitary confinement, during which time he was interrogated five or six times a day, beaten and insulted.

He was eventually sentenced to three years in prison for “propaganda activities against the regime of the Islamic Republic”, and another three years for “insulting Islamic sanctities”.

This second three-year sentence was later dropped. But despite the best efforts of his lawyer, Mojtaba’s other three-year sentence was upheld, and in July 2012 he received a summons, telling him he must present himself at Arak court to begin his sentence within 20 days.

Mojtaba says that he longed to stay in Iran but decided he had no choice but to flee the country.

So in March 2013, having spent months in hiding, Mojtaba fled the country and travelled to Turkey, and it is there he remains.

Mojtaba has never been interviewed about his asylum claim, and in January 2024 he was suddenly arrested by the Turkish immigration authorities and transferred to a deportation camp.

For more about Mojtaba, read his Witness Statement or our feature article.