Iran Detains Christian Converts, Prayers Urged
Iranian Christians requested prayers Thursday for Iranian Pastor Abdolreza (Matthias) Haghnejad and his wife, Anahita (Anna) Khademi, after their detention in northern Iran.
Christian Persecution – Middle East
Iran: Regime warns Chaldean and Assyrian Christians not to participate in anti-government protests
Christians belonging to the Chaldean Catholic Church and Assyrian Church of the East denominations in Iran have been threatened by state security forces not to join the ongoing nationwide anti-regime protests or even to post support for the uprising on social media, on pain of arrests and persecution, the Christian Post reports.
Iraq: Christian families are leaving in droves
The Chaldean Patriarchate has issued a statement attesting that Iraqi Christians are leaving their country in droves due to compelling sociological and political factors, which include discrimination, Agenzia Fides reports. The Christians of Iraq make up one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world; there are an estimated 500,000 Christians still in the country.
Syria: Christians under threat from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham terror group
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has stated in a new report that Christians in northwestern Syria are now living under threat from the de facto rule of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, Christian Today reports.
Two Christians suddenly released from jail after convictions for leading churches
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei unexpectedly ordered the release of two church leaders imprisoned in the notoriously harsh Evin Prison in Tehran a few days after a fire broke out at the jail on October 15, Morningstar News (MSN) reports. Christian advocacy activists have said they do not know the reason for the Supreme Leader’s decision.
Iran Christians Freed From Troubled Evin Prison
Iranian authorities have freed two Christian converts from one of Iran’s most notorious prisons after a fire there killed eight inmates and injured dozens of others, well-informed Christians told Worthy News Wednesday.
Iran Jails Christian Couple Over House Church
A frail man and his wife have been detained at Iran’s notorious Evin prison in Tehran, and Christians fear they will be locked up for years due to their involvement in a house church.
Iran: Lawyer who defended a Pastor on death row has been imprisoned too, together with his former client
An attorney in Iran who helped save an Iranian pastor accused of ‘apostasy’ from the death penalty has now been imprisoned himself, together with his former client, who has again been jailed, Article 18 reports.
Syria: Two killed in terrorist attack on church
Two people were killed, and 12 were wounded in a terrorist rocket attack on the Greek Orthodox Hagia Sophia Church in Al-Suqaylabiyah, Syria last week, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Syria: Christians increasingly vulnerable to fraudulent property confiscation
Christians from the north-eastern region of war-torn Syria have reportedly become increasingly susceptible to fraudulent property confiscations at the hands of both Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Iran: Christian converts convicted of house-church membership
Four Christian converts in Iran have been convicted of criminality due to their membership of house churches, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Iran: Five-year sentences for Christians accused of having “deviant beliefs” upheld
Iranian authorities have upheld the five-year prison sentences handed to each of three Christians convicted of “engaging in propaganda” and sharing “deviant beliefs contrary to Holy Sharia law” through practicing their faith at a house church, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Iran: Pastor and two Christian women jailed for leading house churches
A pastor and two Christian women in Iran have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from 6 to 10 years because they are leaders of house churches, Article 18 reports. Iran’s Islamic regime considers Christianity a threat to its power, and has had Christian leaders imprisoned on false charges of violating national security and of disseminating anti-government propaganda.
Iran Pastor 10 Years In Jail After Losing Appeal
An Iranian pastor has lost his appeal against a ten-year jail term for running a “house church” at his home in Iran’s capital, Tehran, trial observers confirmed Tuesday.
Christian humanitarian tells of captivity in Iraq
A French Christian has published a book recounting his abduction and tortuous captivity by Islamic terrorists while on a humanitarian trip in Iraq, the Christian Post reports. The author of the new book ‘Kidnapped in Iraq: A Christian Humanitarian Tells His Story,’ Alexandre Goodarzy recently spoke of his work and captivity with the Christian Post (CP).
Iran Jails Pastor 10 Years For House Church
An Iranian pastor has been sentenced to ten years in prison for running an “illegal” house church in Tehran, the capital, Worthy News learned Thursday.
Iran: Another Christian woman imprisoned for involvement in house church
A second Christian woman has begun a two-year prison sentence in Iran because of her involvement with a local house church, Article 18 reports.
Iran: Christian convert taken into custody for house church involvement
Iran’s intelligence authorities have taken a Christian convert into custody, accusing him of “propaganda against the [Iranian Islamic] regime through involvement in house church activities.”
Iran Christians Concerned About Jailed Convert
Iranian Christians have urged prayers for a house church leader who they say remains detained after being arrested at his home in Anzali on April 18.
Iran: Christian woman begins jail term for leading evangelical church
Christian convert Fariba Dalir has begun a two-year prison sentence handed down to her by an Iranian court because she started an Evangelical Christian church in Iran, Article 18 reports.