Three Iranian pastors who were facing six years in prison for committing “action against national security” by sharing Christ have been acquitted of their crimes.

Behman Irani, the leader of the 300 member Church of Iran, had been facing 18 new charges along with two other pastors in the church, Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad and Reza Rabbani.

The charges included “spreading corruption on Earth” which carries a death penalty.

An appeals court overturned the convictions of the three men on December 9^th.  Irani is still being held in prison because of a conviction on another charge that has him in jail for another two years.

“It is encouraging to see the Iranian judicial system rule on the merits of the case, rather than simply exploiting the system as a means of persecuting religious minorities, as is regularly the case,” International Christian Concern Regional Manager Todd Daniels remarked in a statement. “It is a fundamental aspect of religious freedom to be able to meet together with others who share your beliefs. For too long, the Iranian regime has treated such meetings as a threat to national security.”