Letter from Armenian prisoner of conscience Hakob Gochumiyan

I am Hakob, a citizen of Armenia.

Since 15 August 2023, I have been in an Iranian prison for my faith for the unfounded reason of preaching and teaching Christianity.

I was later sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 50,000,000 tomans (approximately $850).

The investigation by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence was carried out with gross violations of human rights – the absence of a lawyer or translator and threats to the lives of my family members.

I was also subjected to psychological violence. They confessed to the brutal murder of Haik Hovsapian, without a drop of shame describing it in detail, and said that they would kill me in the same way.

The indictment, fabricated by the prosecutor, contains fictitious statements, such as “leading crusades to destroy the Islamic Republic”, and “instilling in Baluchi children the dream of having bread, water, toys and education”.

The charges are fabricated, completely unfair and false, and part of the fabrication was done with the help of a “Christian” traitor.

The prison security staff in every way prevented me meeting with my lawyer – not allowing a normal conversation and unauthorisedly recording our conversations, without the right to do so – and they also prevented me meeting with the staff of the Armenian embassy.

The unfair verdict was handed down by Judge Iman Afshari. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court have both rejected my appeal, not acknowledging the fact that the charges were fabricated.

Hakob Gochumiyan