Officials from Iran’s fundamentalist regime have arrested a pastor for “discipling” Muslim converts to Christianity.
According to the NGO Open doorswhich publicizes cases of persecution against Christians around the world, Anooshavan Avedian, 61, was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for the “crime” and until then had not been detained.
Last week, two Iranian intelligence officers went to his residence and took him away, without any legal notice.
Anooshavan’s arrest came on the same day that another pastor, Joseph Shabazian, was released from detention. The religious leader had already been arrested with two Christians of Muslim origin, Soori and Mohammadi, for leading a domestic church in the country, a practice that is prohibited by the regime for “hurting national security”.
According to Anooshavan’s lawyer, the judicial process took place irregularly, without prior communication with the accused. Furthermore, the police allegedly threatened to handcuff the religious man and take him by force to the prison center.
The defense of the pastor and other Iranian Christians petitioned the Supreme Court to reevaluate the sentence, however the appeal was rejected.
Iran is the 8th country in World Watch List 2023produced by the NGO Portas Abertas.
The survey points out the most repressive places for the spread of Christianity in the world. One of the main objectives of the Iranian regime is to weaken the religious minorities present in the country, which has an Islamic majority.
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