Mehdi Dibaj was sentenced to death by an Islamic Revolutionary Court on 3 December 1993. In January 1994, he was given 20 days to appeal against the sentence. He has been detained since 1984, but was reportedly never given a reason for his arrest. He reportedly converted to Christianity 45 years ago, and before his arrest was an evangelist and missionary to Afghanistan. He is currently held in a prison in Sari, the provincial capital of Mazandaran.
