Iran, Tehran, 19 October / Trend corr. E. Namdari/ Iran's Ministry of Justice decreed to release Ramtin Sudmand, a Christian of Mashhad city located in the north-east of Iran, after weeks of imprisonment.
Ramtin Sudmand was detained by the Mashhad Security Department on 21 September, 2008, and has been kept in a temporary cell.
Iranian security administration accused Sudmand of agitation against statehood.
The Mashhad Revolutionary Court was ordered to release Sudmand, an anonymous source at the Iranian Ministry of Justice said to Trend . Sudmand may be temporary released on bail.
Ramtin's release decree was issued simultaneously with release of two Iranian Christians, whose lawsuits the Shiraz Court had sent to the Appeal Court. They were detained for hereticism, but then acquitted.
Mahmoud Matin, 53, and Arash Basirat, 40, both Iranian Christians, were detained on 10 May, 2008, and released after several months of imprisonment.
The two were also accused of "agitation against the statehood of the Islamic Republic of Iran", "public deluding", "dissemination of false statements", "offence of Ayatollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the country's administration".
A while ago this year the Esfahan security bodies detained 16 Christians.
Although Iran's Criminal Code does not stipulate for punishment for hereticism, according to Islamic religion giving up of Islam is hereticism and execution is the punishment.
Last year Iran's security bodies detained 14 Christians in the cities of Rasht, Karaj and Tehran.
Ten Christians were detained in Iran's Shiraz city this year.
All those people were detained for practicing Christianity.
The correspondent can be contacted at [email protected]