Name: Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour
Country/Area of Origin: Rasht, Iran
Background: Sajadpour is a Christian convert
Reason for Arrest:
In February 2020, Saeede (Kathrin) Sajadpour, her husband Ramin Hassanpour, and two other Iranian Christian converts – Sakine (Mehri) Behjati, and Hadi (Moselm) Rahimi – were arrested for their membership in the local Rasht division of the Church of Iran. In August, Sajadpour was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on charges of “acting against national security” and “spreading Zionist Christianity”. Prior to the sentencing, in May the group of four spent a week in Rasht’s Lakan Prison as they were unable to afford the bail amount set at 500 million tomans; they were then released on a reduced 200 million toman bail.
In September 2020, Rahimi’s, Hassanpour’s, Behjati’s, and Sajadpour’s appeals were rejected.
Saeede and her husband Ramin have two sons. Their eldest, aged 16, had been staying home alone while his parents spent the week in prison in May 2020. The younger son, aged 7, stayed with his grandfather. Now that the couple has been released on bail, they are able to be together.
Latest Updates:
- 9 January 2022: Hadi (Moslem) Rahimi, who was arrested alongside Sajadpour, began serving his four year sentence at Evin Prison. Hassanpour, Sajadpour, and Behjati are still free on bail but could be summoned to begin serving their sentences soon.