Armenian prisoner of conscience reports ‘psychological violence,' mistreatment in prison
An Armenian Christian man imprisoned in Iran has allegedly faced psychological violence and mistreatment, advocates say.
In a letter sent from prison to persecution watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Hakob Gochumiyan described threats to his life and serious violations of due process.
Gochumiyan, sentenced to 10 years in prison last October, told the United Kingdom-based CSW that he was denied legal representation, access to translation and contact with Armenian diplomatic staff. He also accused Iranian intelligence officers of making death threats and recounting the 1994 murder of Iranian-Armenian Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr in graphic detail, warning him he would be killed in the same way.
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"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," Gochumiyan wrote in the letter.
"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."
Gochumiyan was arrested on Aug. 15, 2023, alongside his wife, Elisa, while visiting family in Iran. The arrest followed a raid by plainclothes agents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence on the home of a family friend in Pardis. The couple and their two young children had been invited there for dinner.
Officers reportedly confiscated personal belongings, including Christian literature. Both were taken into solitary confinement at Tehran's Evin Prison and interrogated at length without being informed of the charges.
While Elisa was released on bail two months later and returned to Armenia, Gochumiyan remained in custody. Authorities later charged him with "engaging in deviant proselytising activity that contradicts the sacred law of Islam" through his role in an Evangelical Christian network.
On Oct. 19, 2024, Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison and fined him roughly $850. Judge Afshari is known for issuing harsh punishments and presiding over trials that human rights groups say lack transparency and due process, according to CSW.
The judge has served in his role since 2017 and has been sanctioned by both the U.K. and Canada for his conduct in other cases involving journalists, activists and members of minority communities. Rights organizations have cited a pattern of excessive punishments and disregard for judicial standards in cases heard by his court.
Gochumiyan appealed the conviction, but the appellate court denied his request. Two attempts to secure a retrial from the Supreme Court have also been rejected, with the most recent denial occurring within the last few weeks, said the group.
In his letter to CSW, Gochumiyan recounted the conditions of his detention, beginning with solitary confinement and lengthy interrogations conducted without a lawyer or translator present. He stated that MOIS officers threatened the lives of his family and coerced statements under duress.
He also reported that the charges were based on false accusations, including an alleged statement that he had led "crusades to destroy the Islamic Republic" and had attempted to instill dreams of food and education in children from the Baluchi community — claims he called fabricated.
According to the letter, the limited meetings allowed with his lawyer were monitored and recorded without consent, violating basic legal protections. He further said he was denied access to officials from the Armenian Embassy during his imprisonment.
CSW said the charges against Gochumiyan were excessive and unsubstantiated.
The organization expressed concern over the psychological abuse he has described and pointed to violations of both Iranian constitutional guarantees and international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.
Article 32 of Iran's Constitution requires that detainees be informed of the reason for their arrest, while Article 39 forbids the violation of the dignity of any detained person. The ICCPR also guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief, legal representation and a fair hearing before an independent court.
Gochumiyan remains in prison more than 20 months after his initial arrest.
"We are particularly appalled at the severe psychological cruelty inflicted on him by MOIS officers who threatened to reenact their brutal murder of Bishop Hovsapian Mehr," CSW's Founder President Meryvn Thomas said in a statement. "We are also dismayed by the unacceptable infringements on his right to access legal counsel, and by successive rejections of his appeals despite the absence of due process in the legal proceedings that resulted in his conviction."
CSW has called for Gochumiyan's immediate and unconditional release and urged the Armenian government and the international community to intervene.
In April, Iranian authorities detained Lida Alexani, the 56-year-old wife of Joseph Shahbazian, an Iranian-Armenian pastor, placing her in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin Prison, according to Article 18. Her arrest followed her husband's re-arrest two months earlier, despite his September 2023 "pardon" for leading a house church, which was previously deemed a threat to national security.
Iran ranked ninth on the Christian support organization Open Doors' 2025 World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The report noted that despite persecution, "the church in Iran is growing steadily."
