Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photo: wiki commons.

JNS.org – Eight members of the Christian underground Church of Iran in Shiraz were sentenced to jail last week after being found guilty of “action against the national security” and “propaganda against the order of the system” according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based Christian human rights group.

“It is both disappointing and deplorable that the Iranian regime persists in detaining religious minorities on political charges, as has occurred once again in this case. These Christians in no way constitute a threat to the state,” Meryn Thomas, CEO of CSW, said in a statement.

According to CSW, seven of Christians sentenced were arrested in October 2012 during raid on a house in Shiraz where the group was conducting prayer services led by Mohammad Roghangir. Their sentences range from one to six years.

The sentencing of the eight Iranian Christians is just the latest of a long line of Christian persecution in Iran, especially of Evangelical Christian groups. One of the most famous cases is that of Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who is serving time in one of Iran’s most notorious prisons. The U.S. State Department has condemned his sentence and called for his release.