Iranian Christians request prayer for Christian converts: one in Karaj was sentenced to 10-months’ prison, four recently arrested in Dezful were temporarily released, apparently because of Covid-19.
Hamet Ashouri, a member of the “Church of Iran” movement, was arrested in Karaj on 23 February 2019. Security agents offered him 7,000,000 tomans monthly “salary” for his “cooperation.” When he refused he was physically assaulted.
Hamet was released on 6 March 2019. There was no further progress in his case until March 2021, when he was summoned to face charges of “propaganda against the regime,” and sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment. He is appealing the decision.
In a separate case, four Christian converts, Esmaeil Narimanpour, Mohammad Ali Torabi, AliReza Varek Shah and Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf, arrested in Dezful on 19 April, were released on 21 April, apparently because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Mohabbat News, they were questioned about political issues. It was also claimed that Esmaeil had been beaten during detention. They were told to make themselves available for further questioning.
It was reported that between 10 and 15 others were summoned for questioning between 19 and 22 April in connection with the arrests of the four men.
Iranian Christians request prayer that:
- God will comfort and strengthen all the Christian converts detailed here: Hamet, Esmaeil, Mohammad, AliReza, Hojjat and those summoned for interrogation.
- Hamet’s lawyer will be able to successfully appeal his prison sentence.
- The Lord will give those questioned wisdom to answer their interrogators.
- The Iranian authorities will stop the systematic persecution of religious minorities, which is on-going even during the struggle against Covid-19.
