Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh[1] were sentenced to execution by hanging in 2009 for converting to Christianity in Iran.[2][3][4] They were detained in the notorious Evin Prison for 259 days[5][6][7] where they were tortured and interrogated.[8]
After gaining freedom, the two women wrote Captive in Iran which detailed their experiences.[6]
Amirizadeh became an American citizen in 2016 and campaigned in the 2022 Georgia House of Representatives election as a Republican.[9][10] In 2022, she also completed her second book, A Love Journey with God, which details her difficult upbringing and journey to Christianity as well as further details of her imprisonment in Iran.[11][12]