Obama nods his head in quiet approval.

TEHRAN, IRAN — Four Christians in Iran will stand trial for “spreading Christianity” in the strict Islamic nation, a well-informed advocacy official told BosNewsLife, charges that could lead to long prison terms and possible a death sentence.

Pastor Amin Khaki and fellow Christians Daniel (Hossein) Barounzadeh, Mohammad Bahrami and Rahman Bahmani are to face a “retrial” on February 1, said Jason DeMars, director of the Present Truth Ministry group.

The trial that is being held at Iran’s Ahwaz Khuzestan Province Revolutionary Court “is actually a re-trial, upon appeal, after having been convicted and sentenced for spreading Christianity in Iran,” he added.

They were part of a group of eight Christians who were detained and interrogated following a picnic in March 2014 near the city of Danial-e Shoush. […]

“Apostasy”, or abandoning Islam and converting others, is punishable by death in Iran, according to Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, though in practise they may face long imprisonment.