Iranian Christians are thankful that a new charge against convert Ebrahim Firouzi has been rejected through lack of evidence and the case closed.
In 2013, Ebrahim was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison and two years of internal exile in the remote town of Sarbaz in Sistan-Balochestan province for “propaganda against the regime by establishing and organising Christian gatherings” and “having contacts with anti-revolutionary networks outside Iran.”
Ebrahim was expected to be released early in 2015, but he remained detained. In March 2015 he was retried and sentenced to an additional five years in prison on charges of “acting against national security by gathering and collusion.”
In November 2019, after completing the consecutive prison sentences, Ebrahim started serving the two-year period of exile in Sarbaz, near the border with Pakistan. On 12 March Ebrahim was notified that his exile had been extended by eight months for violating its terms, and an additional three months for failing to appear for a daily signing in.
On, 27 September, Ebrahim was notified that he had to appear before the prosecutor in Rask, near Sarbaz, to answer a charge of “propaganda against the state.” A conviction could have carried a prison sentence of three to twelve months. Thankfully, on 28 September, the prosecutor closed the case against him for lack of evidence.
Iranian Christians are thankful that the prosecutor in Rask did not press charges against Ebrahim, but request prayer that:
- Ebrahim will know the Lord’s peace during this time of increased pressure from the Iranian authorities, even while continuing to serve the internal exile sentence
- Iranian authorities will stop the harassment and persecution of Christian converts in violation of their human rights
