Pastor Vervir Avenesian, 61, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on bogus charge of "acting against national security" and also "evangelizing and propaganda in favor of Christianity targeting Muslims". Avanessian was arrested during Christmas ceremony on 27 December 2012, together with 50 other Christian compatriots.

Mohammad Hadi Bordbar, one of the arrestees in the 2012 Christmas ceremony was condemned to 10 years in prison. Previously, in 2009, he was arrested by security agents in Rasht on charge of converting to Christianity.

Pastor Farhad Sabokrouh, together with his wife Shahnaz Jeizan, leaders of Rabbani Church in Ahwaz, together with Nasser Zamen Dezfouli and Dawoud Alijani, two servants of this church, were arrested on 4 May 2013 and are being held in Karoun Prison in Ahwaz.

Pastor Robert Asserian, a leader of Rabbani Church Council, along with others who were present in the weekly prayer session in Tehran, were arrested on 21 May 2013 and taken to Evin Prison. This year, a large number of those who have converted to Christianity were arrested in Fars, Isfahan and Azerbaijan provinces.

On August 1, 2013, in an assault on a home-church in Isfahan, a number of the participants were apprehended.

In October 2012, an Iranian-American pastor by the name of Saeid Abedini was arrested during his visit to Iran on charge of "setting up and initiating home-churches with the objective of disrupting national security" and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Pastor Behnam Irani, a member of presidential board of Iran's churches has been in prison for four years. He was taken to solitary confinement in the ward associated with Revolutionary Guards in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj and condemned to five years and eight months of prison. He is suffering from many ailments due to tortures and deplorable prison conditions, yet deprived of medical care.

Six political prisoners in Qezelhesar prison, who have been on hunger strike since November 4 against their death sentences, are in critical state. They are from Sunni minority and doctors have warned that their kidneys and intestine are about getting infected.

Kurdish journalists in imprisoned - According to Amnesty international, 13december, two brothers, Khosro and Masoud Kordpour, both journalists from Iran's Kurdish minority, were sentenced on 10 November to prison terms of respectively six years and three-and-a half years.

Baha'i Cemetery demolished - In Sanandaj, provincial capital of Iranian Kurdistan, northwestern Iran, the cemetery of Bahai religious minority was destroyed by bulldozer upon a court order. This is the third time that the cemetery of Bahais have been attacked in this city since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. 

Facebook Banned

Severe recession in industrial section

Radio Farda, Persian service of Radio Free Europe, reported on December 20: All expert institutions in the country confirm that there is a severe recession in Iran's industrial section. The research center for Majlis (parliament) evaluated the rate of industrial growth in the year ending March 2013 was -5.9 percent. Industrial investment in Iran dropped from $8.9 billion in 2008 to $3.6 billion. The average industrial production per capita is $1,277 in the world, but it is $316 in Iran. In comparison, industrial production by every Saudi or Turkish citizen is respectively 5.4 or 5 times of every Iranian. Industrial production of every Saudi citizen is 12 times of every Iranian.

$3.2 billion budget deficit in Health Ministry

Jam-e Jam state-run daily, December 19, wrote: Despite 14 percent rise in Health Ministry's budget for next year, the ministry suffers from $3.2 billion budget deficit and there is no hope for reduction of 70 percent in people's medical costs next year.