Hengaw’s report regarding the arrest of a Christian couple in Tehran
Elissa Shahverdyan, a Christian citizen of Iranian descent, and her Armeni
Hengaw: Friday, December 22, 2023
Elissa Shahverdyan, a Christian citizen of Iranian descent, and her Armenian husband, whose identity has been confirmed as Hakop Gochumyan, were arrested this summer. Hakup Gochumyan spent the last one hundred and thirty days in detention.
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Elissa Shahverdyan and her husband Hakup Gochumyan, an Armenian couple who came to Iran to visit their relatives, were arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the evening of Tuesday, August 15, 2023, at the house of one of their acquaintances in the city.
According to informed sources, Elissa Shahverdyan was temporarily released from prison on Thursday, October 19th, after enduring 66 days of detention, with a heavy bond of two billion tomans until the end of her release, but her husband Hakop Gochumyan Despite the passing of four months and nine days, he is still detained in Evin prison.
Hengaw has been informed that Elissa Shahverdyan and Hakop Gochumyan were under physical and mental pressure and torture for several weeks in Evin prison ward 209, known as the detention center of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The arrest of this couple was carried out with the unauthorized entry of fifteen security forces from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, and during that, in addition to creating an atmosphere of intimidation and a complete search of the house where they were guests, their personal belongings, including books and electronic devices, were also confiscated.
It is worth noting that Elissa Shahveryan, the daughter of Rafi Shahverdyan, a famous priest, emphasized that he and his arrested wife did not have any illegal activities. Her father was a well-known activist of the church (Jamaat Rabbani) in Iran and later left the country with his family for Armenia under pressure.
Elissa Shahverdyan, a Christian citizen of Iranian origin, expressed concern about the continued detention of her husband, Gochumyan, and while stressing that their trip with their two children was to visit their relatives, she demanded the release of her husband.
