Update: Vahik Abrahamian released from prison

Farsi Christian News Network 01 September 2011

Pastor Vahik Abrahamian
has been released.
Photo: Middle East Concern

Pastor Vahik Abrahamian, a 45-year-old Armenian Christian, was released from prison on the morning of August 29. Pastor Vahik and his wife, Sonia Keshish Avanesian, were arrested in Hamedan along with another Christian couple in September 2010. Sonia and the other couple were released from prison in April 2011. Officials told Sonia they would release her husband 10 days later, but Vahik continued to be detained at Iran's notorious Evin prison in Tehran. The couples had been accused of various offences, including propagating Christianity, opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran, and having contact with exiled opposition figures (for more information, click here).

During his one year imprisonment, Pastor Vahik suffered from poor health and the prison's deplorable conditions. A member of Pastor Vahik's family has shared that the whole family is "rejoicing" and "expressed their gratitude first to God for His gracious protection and intervention and secondly to the Christian family worldwide who have not ceased praying and advocating on their behalf."

Thank the Lord for this wonderful answer to prayer! Ask the Lord to give Vahik and Sonia the grace and strength they need to overcome this trial. Pray also for their protection. Pray this news will serve as an encouragement to all Christian believers in Iran.

For more information on the persecuted Church in Iran, go to the Iran Country Report.

Current Ministry Fund
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.

Project Fund: Underground Church
Country Information
Designation
Persecuted

Population
87,590,873 (2023 est.)

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.

Iran News

Retrial Denied for Imprisoned Believer

Mehran Shamloui
Photo: Article 18

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Read more...
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A map of Iran, marking the arrests
of Christians since June 24, 2025.
(Click on the image for a larger view.)
Photo: Article18

Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) recently reported that over 50 Christians have been arrested since the end of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel in June 2025. The country's intelligence agency labelled the detained believers as "Mossad mercenaries," claiming that they had been trained by churches abroad and were now operating "under the guise of the Zionist Christian evangelization movement."

Read more...
Convicted Christian Deported and Arrested

Mehran Shamloui
Photo: Article 18

On March 8th, Mehran Shamloui was one of three Christians convicted in Iran for "propaganda" and membership in an alleged "opposition group." He was sentenced to more than ten years in prison. (For more details, see this report.)

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Laleh Saati Receives Conditional Release

Laleh Saati
Photo: Article18

Laleh Saati is a Christian convert and former asylum-seeker who was incarcerated in February 2024 and sentenced to two years in prison. (For more information on the imprisonment of this 46-year-old Iranian follower of Jesus, visit this page.) Throughout Laleh's time in custody, concerns have been raised about her physical health and psychological well-being. Most recently, it was reported that the Christian woman was denied needed medical treatment for a hand injury that had occurred as a result of a fall.

Read more...