Friends and family of Christian convert Ismaeil Maghrebinejad request prayer after a disappointing decision following a 9 May retrial.
On 27 February Ismaeil had been sentenced to two years in prison for “membership of a group hostile to the regime.” He had received a Bible verse from a Christian media organization. According to a court document, the group teaches “Evangelical Zionist Christianity,” which is not tolerated in Iran.
The judge had requested the retrial, which raised hopes the injustice would be addressed. Instead of acquitting Ismaeil or reducing the sentence, not only was the previous sentence upheld, but Ismaeil was given an additional year in prison for “propaganda against the state.”
Ismaeil’s lawyer pointed out that receiving a message from an organization does not constitute membership, even in one considered “hostile to the regime.” He said the court had not been presented “with one single reason, piece of evidence or document that would justify the verdict.”
These two sentences are in addition to another three-year sentence for “insulting Islamic sacred beliefs” following a hearing in the civil court on 8 January. That conviction was based on a “smiley face” that Ismaeil had used to respond to a joke deemed critical of the clergy.
Ismaeil was arrested with unnecessary force in January 2019 and his house searched to try to find evidence that could be used against him.
Ismaeil is appealing all three convictions.
Prayer Points
Prayer is requested that:
- The Lord will comfort and strengthen Ismaeil and his family despite the disappointment and grant them His peace
- The Lord will give the lawyer much wisdom as he prepares for the appeals
- The Iranian judiciary will acknowledge the insufficiency of the evidence for Ismaeil’s supposed “crimes” and acquit him in the appeal hearings
- Those determined to prosecute Ismaeil on account of his Christian faith will be convicted of sin and repent of their wickedness
Open source: Articleeighteen.com
