From Mission Network News.
Iran’s harsh and unjustifiable courts have no limits when it comes to sentencing religious minorities like Christians.
But The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) shares that this is a mix between a good news/bad news story.
Current Persecution
Recently, 18 Christian converts were sentenced to prison for practicing their faith,according to Fox News.
They were arrested–some as early as 2013–for breaking Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states, “Anyone who engages in any type of propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran or in support of opposition groups and associations, shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment.”
Their total sentences came out to nearly 24 years.
They’re not the only Christians who have been suffering from unfair arrests and sentences in the nation.
Pastor Saeed Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2013. Christian Today says he was found guilty for creating a network of Christian house churches and “attempting to sway Iranian youth away from Islam.”
His wife has been traveling the world since 2012 to campaign for his release, getting attention from President Barak Obama and many American Christians.
According to VOM’s website, since 2010, 400 Christians have been arbitrarily arrested by Iranian authorities. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released in their annual report that persecution of religious minorities has increased since President Hassan Rouhani was elected.
1 Comment. Leave new
Thank you for covering persecuted Christian subjects. This article points out the conundrum of Christianity gaining adherents – enthusiastic adherents – while under persecution.
…. Yet, in the safety & comfort of our USA, we confront complacency, lack of willingness to evangelize, apostasy, and even the development of modern “doctrines” of why it is no longer valid to believe.