Turkish Authorities Poised To Deport Christian Pastor Mojtaba Back to Iran – Where He Already Faced 170 Days of Torture for His Faith

A Christian pastor of a home church, Mojtaba Ahmadi, faces being sent back to Iran, where he has already endured over 170 days of brutal torture for his faith in Christ.

The ACLJ is advocating at the U.N. for Pastor Mojtaba’s release from a Turkish prison where he risks being deported back to Iran to be tortured and imprisoned again.

In Iran, Pastor Mojtaba found himself handcuffed, thrown in a van, and blindfolded simply for converting to Christianity, serving fellow believers, and sharing his faith. This is an all-too-frequent reality for Christians in Iran.

Mojtaba, born in Tehran to a devout Muslim family, was deeply influenced by his father, a Quranic teacher and imam. As a child, he followed Islam and participated in religious practices out of admiration for his father. However, as he grew older, he felt disconnected from God and unsatisfied by religious rituals. This inner conflict, worsened by the trauma of the Iran-Iraq War, led him to contemplate suicide. However, one day he encountered Jesus Christ, who transformed his life. But in Iran, his conversion made him a marked man.

His conversion journey was marked by hardship and risk. Initially, he struggled to even find a Bible, and he couldn’t locate a Christian fellowship as churches were suspicious of potential state-sponsored spies. His faith led to discrimination at work and his university. Friends treated him as “impure,” and his conversion severed his connection to his community and made him a marked man.

Eventually, Mojtaba found spiritual connection through an underground church, attending house meetings and later completing a theology course. He became actively involved in Christian outreach, dedicating himself to sharing and teaching Christ’s message to Iranians. He and his outreach group began serving two new house churches in Arak, traveling weekly to teach and hold services. He was committed to spreading the Gospel regardless of the risk.

Then in September 2010, Mojtaba and two fellow believers gathered for an informal Bible study in Daneshjoo Park. Shortly after they began, Iranian authorities arrested all three, threw them in a van, and took them to a detention center. From that moment, Mojtaba was held in solitary confinement for 170 days and endured both physical and psychological torture. Reading Mojtaba’s account is heartbreaking:

As they beat me, they insulted my family members and faith, intending to harass and torture me. But suddenly two other interrogators entered and beat me severely in front of the first interrogator’s eyes. They beat me with their fists, with kicks, and with all their might. They slapped, punched and kicked my whole body, especially my head and face. I don’t know how long it took; I only know that eventually I surrendered myself to the punches and kicks of the interrogators.

After a legal process, Mojtaba was sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of spreading “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Mojtaba had 20 days to appeal. Ultimately, his appeal was denied, and Mojtaba was given 20 days to report to the court. When he didn’t report, an arrest warrant was issued. Mojtaba had no choice but to flee or be subjected to more torture and possibly die in prison.

By God’s grace, Pastor Mojtaba managed to obtain an emergency passport and secure a rare seat on a flight to Turkey, where he applied for United Nations refugee status and has remained for over 10 years.

Earlier this year, he was arrested in Turkey on questionable immigration charges. His identification card was taken away, and he has been held at an immigration detention center. It is believed he now faces the threat of deportation back to Iran, where he still faces a multi-year prison sentence.

According to Open Doors, at least 75 foreign Christian workers and their families were expelled from Turkey between 2020 and 2023.

We highlighted Pastor Mojtaba’s plight to the U.N. in our recent Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on persecution in Turkey:

One Iranian Christian convert, Mojtaba Keshavarz Ahmadi, has lived in Turkey for over ten years and applied for a refugee visa but was never interviewed and granted the official protection. He was arrested on questionable immigration charges on January 29, 2024. He now risks deportation and being sentenced in Iran.

The ACLJ is calling on the U.N. to act swiftly to prevent this unjust expulsion and ensure Pastor Mojtaba’s safety. We have successfully defended persecuted Christians in the past, including securing the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was wrongfully imprisoned in Turkey. Now we need your support to help us do it again.

Sign our urgent petition today to demand immediate protection for Pastor Mojtaba Ahmadi. Time is critical – he could be deported at any moment.