The son of an influential pastor silenced by the Iranian government has been handed a four-month jail sentence for his involvement with illegal house churches, World Watch Monitor has learnt.
Ramil Bet Tamraz's lawyers were informed of the sentence for "acting against national security" on 8 July. One of the friends with whom he was arrested also received a four-month sentence.
Ramil, a Christian from an ethnic Assyrian background, was arrested in August 2016 with a group of Christian friends during a picnic in the Alborz mountains, north-east of Tehran. The other four had all converted from Islam.
The five men were held and interrogated in the notorious Evin Prison, and released one by one. Ramil and one other were released after posting bail equivalent to U.S. $33,000 each.
Because Mr. Tamraz was released in October 2016, he has already served more than half of his 4-month sentence, but the verdict leaves him with a criminal record.
Mr. Tamraz is appealing against the verdict. If the sentence is upheld by the appeal court, he may have to return to serve some or all of the remainder of the prison sentence.
His lawyers were asked to make a handwritten copy of the judge's verdict, World Watch Monitor understands. Mr. Tamraz was not allowed to be present at the court to hear the verdict against him.
He has been living at home in Tehran, where both his parents are serving lengthy suspended sentences for church-related activities. His father, pastor Victor Bet Tamraz, led the Tehran Pentecostal Assyrian Church until the government ordered its closure in 2009.
Mansour Borji, of the religious advocacy charity Article 18, told World Watch Monitor that he thought the government may have sentenced Mr. Tamraz in order to antagonize his father. "Putting pressure on family members of active Christians is a theme I've noticed emerging from my years of monitoring the Iranian government's treatment of evangelical Christians," he told World Watch Monitor.
He added that a number of Iran's revolutionary courts had begun not issuing defendants with written copies of the verdicts passed against them, which he said was unlawful and may aim to enable judges to leave no paper trail behind judgements that might not stand up to external scrutiny. 
This article originally appeared on World Watch Monitor.
Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Dr. Mark Rutland's
National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)
The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!
FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.
Do you feel stuck? Do you feel like you’re not growing? Do you need help from an expert in leadership? There is no other leadership training like the NICL. Gain the leadership skills and confidence you need to lead your church, business or ministry. Get ready to accomplish all of your God-given dreams. CLICK HERE for NICL training dates and details.The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.
