Afghan Christians | The Afghan refugee began a two-year sentence in Ghezel Hesar Prison on 16 November 2025

ACW | 17 October 2026 — Article18, an organisation that advocates for the religious freedom of Christians in Iran, reported on Friday (16 October) that Hannah (Zahra) Gholami, a fellow convert sentenced alongside Afghan Christian convert and refugee Kourosh Hosseini, has been “pardoned” and released from the remainder of her two-year sentence. The report says nothing of a pardon or release for Kourosh, and none has been reported so far.

Who is Kourosh Hosseini?

Teymur Hosseini, known as Kourosh, is about 45 and has lived in Iran as a refugee for some 20 years. He is a shoemaker, married with three children.

According to Article18, security agents raided his home and workplace in Karaj and arrested him on 11 December 2023. On the same day agents raided a house-church gathering in Shahriar, and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence later merged the two cases.

He was held until mid-February 2024 and then released on bail equivalent to $20,000. On 2 July 2024 Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar sentenced him to two years in prison for “forming and membership of a house-church group aimed at disrupting national security” under Article 498 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code. His appeal and his request for a retrial at the Supreme Court were rejected.

Kourosh began serving his sentence on 16 November 2025, the same day as fellow converts Daniel Mohammadi and Hannah Gholami. Article18 and IranWire report that he is held in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. The identity of a fourth Christian in the case has not been made public.

A fellow convert’s pardon

Article18 says Hannah Gholami, 36, was told on 2 October 2026 that she had been pardoned as part of a general amnesty of prisoners. She had served about half her sentence, including two months in detention after her arrest. She spent four months out of prison on medical leave earlier this year, and before the pardon she had been allowed to serve the rest of her sentence by reporting daily to work at a government-run factory.

ACW has previously reported on Kourosh Hosseini’s transfer to Ghezel Hesar. Besides prison, Afghan Christian refugees in Iran face the risk of deportation to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where leaving Islam can put their lives in danger.

Verification note: the background of Kourosh Hosseini’s case has been reported by several sources (Article18, IranWire and Middle East Concern). The news of Hannah Gholami’s pardon has been published only by Article18 and repeated by Mohabat News from the same source; ACW has not independently confirmed it.