Iranian Christians Mahmood Matin-Azad and Arash Basirat, who were acquitted on charges of apostasy on September 25 (click here), have learned that their release was based on the false claim that they denied their Christian faith in court. According to an October 30 report from Compass Direct, the court claims that the men denied converting to Christianity from Islam. However, both men vehemently maintain that they openly professed their Christian faith throughout the trial.
Although they have been exonerated of the charges, they fear they will be re-arrested once they resume their Christian activity or that believers who associate with them will also face pressure. Some believe that they were released to appease international pressure and that they might be punished outside of the law.
By funding television broadcasts, VOMC is making it possible for a vast audience of viewers to be reached throughout Iran with the "Good News" of Jesus' love via satellite.
Ethnicity Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribes
Religion (%) Islam (98.5), Christian (0.7), Baha'i (0.3), agnostic (0.3), other (0.2)
Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Khamenei (1989)
Government type Theocratic republic
Legal system Religious legal system based on secular and Islamic law
Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Iran
As the Gospel message goes forth over the airwaves, may the growth of the church continue to multiply despite persecution. Pray that the Iranian government will be open to change, allowing full rights and protection for its non-Muslim citizens as well. In the meantime, may those who are forced to flee the country find safe refuge and help so they can live in peace and worship the Lord with freedom.
In 2017, Pastor Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced to ten years in prison for his Christian ministry activities. Though pardoned and released in 2022, the pastor was suddenly rearrested on February 6th of this year. (Read more.)
Amir-Ali Minaei has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since April 2024. The Christian man is presently serving a 43-month term for "propaganda activities against the regime through establishing a house church."
Left to right: Abbas Soori, Narges Nasri, and Mehran Shamloui. Photos: Article 18
Three Christian converts, including a woman who is pregnant with her first child, have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences on charges relating to their religious beliefs and worship meetings. The Iranian believers were sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari at a Revolutionary Court on March 8th.
Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh (left) and Joseph Shahbazian Photo: Article18
While Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh had been sentenced in 2017 to ten years' imprisonment because of his Christian ministry, he was suddenly pardoned and released in 2022. Similarly, Joseph Shahbazian, a house church leader who had likewise been sentenced to ten years in 2022, was released after just over a year following an appeal of his sentence. More information on Nasser's case is available here.