BUSHEHR, Iran — An Iranian couple sentenced for being Christians have been denied custody of their adopted daughter.
Sam Khosravi and wife Maryam Falahi — converts from Islam — adopted 3-month-old Lydia from an orphanage in February 2019.
Before the adoption was finalized, the couple were arrested for “propaganda against the regime,” a common charge used against Christians.
Khosravi received a year’s prison sentence and two years’ exile. His wife, a nurse, was fined roughly $400 and banned from working in public institutions, including the hospital job she held 20 years.
In July 2020, a Bushehr court declared them unfit to adopt because the child is considered Muslim under Iranian law. However, the judge noted that the girl probably would not be adopted again because of her health issues. The court ruling was upheld in September, even though fatwas from Grand Ayatollahs in Iran stated the adoption was permissible.
Iran is No. 9 on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of places where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Sam Khosravi, Maryam Falahi
and daughter Lydia
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