Tag: Iran

Amnesty launches writing campaign for release of four Iranian Christians

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From left: Victor Bet-Tamraz, Amin Afshar-Naderi, another fellow prisoner Kaviyan Fallah-Mohammadi, and Hadi Asgari.
Amnesty International has called for the release of four Iranians sentenced to a combined total of 45 years in prison “solely for practising their Christian faith”. Its report calls for urgent action from the Iranian government to “quash the convictions and sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Isavi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and . . . Read More

‘How can reading the Bible be acting against national security?’ asks Iranian Christian from prison

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'How can reading the Bible be acting against national security?' asks Iranian Christian from prison
An Iranian convert to Christianity serving ten years in prison for “missionary activities” has written an open letter to the Iranian authorities, asking how his Christian activities could be perceived as anti-state. “Would it even be possible for a committed Christian – who was born and raised in Iran and . . . Read More

US commission calls for Iranian Christians’ release after ‘new miscarriage of justice’

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From left: Saheb Fadaie, Youcef Nadarkhani, Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Mohammad Reza Omidi.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of an Iranian pastor and three of his church members, after they were taken to prison last week to serve ten-year sentences for “acting against national security” by “promoting Zionist Christianity” and running “house . . . Read More

Iranian pastor taken to Evin Prison after violent raid on home

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Iranian pastor taken to Evin Prison after violent raid on home
Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been taken to Evin Prison in the capital, Tehran, after a violent raid on his home in the northern city of Rasht on Sunday (22 July). The pastor was sentenced to ten years in prison in July of last year, alongside three members of his congregation, and had . . . Read More

Jail for Iranian pastor’s son found guilty of ‘acting against national security’

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Ramil Bet-Tamraz was one of the Christians arrested during a picnic in the Alborz Mountains north of Tehran last August. His father, Victor, was arrested on 26 December 2014 for celebrating Christmas.
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 . . . Read More

Attack on seven Iranian Christians exposes religious minorities’ ‘extreme vulnerability’ in refugee camps

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Refugee camps in Greece are "microcosms of the Middle East with all the same ethnic and religious tensions" which are being intensified here, causing violence. (Photo: Photo by Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)
Five Christian converts and two children from Iran were attacked last month in a refugee camp in Greece and told to leave as “this is a Muslim camp”. Following the incident, which took place on Sunday 24 June in a camp near the city of Larissa, about 360km northwest of . . . Read More

Iranian Christian released by ‘courageous’ judge

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Iranian Christian released by ‘courageous’ judge
An Iranian Christian has been released from prison after being arrested in April for “propaganda against the [Iranian] establishment”, Middle East Concern reported yesterday, 5 July. Mohammad Ali Yassaghi was kept in Babol Prison in the capital of Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. He is a member of the self-styled Church . . . Read More

Iranian Christian woman pleads with UN to help family overturn ‘false and unjust’ spy charges

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Iranian Christian woman pleads with UN to help family overturn ‘false and unjust’ spy charges
An Iranian Christian woman pleaded with the UN’s Human Rights Council today to urge Iran to overturn “false and baseless charges” imposed on her father, mother and brother. Dabrina Bet-Tamraz’s parents and brother are appealing against lengthy jail sentences they have received for church-related activities. The appeal by her father, . . . Read More

‘Christianity in Syria is under threat from forces the West is supporting’

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‘Christianity in Syria is under threat from forces the West is supporting’
Two thousand years of Christianity in Syria could be wiped out by the very forces Western governments are supporting, an Anglican vicar has claimed. Rev. Andrew Ashdown, who has made ten trips to Syria since 2014 and is studying for a PhD in relations between Christians and Muslims there, also . . . Read More

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