Yousef Nadarkhani, a priest imprisoned in Iran, goes on hunger strike
Yousef Nadarkhani, a imprisoned priest and member of the Church of Iran, went on a hunger strike to protest schools' refusal to enroll his children.
An informed source told VOA that Yousef Nadarkhani, a imprisoned priest serving a 10-year sentence in Evin Prison, has been on a hunger strike since Monday, October 2, to protest the suspension of his children's education and the schools' refusal to register them for the new academic year.
According to this informed person, Yousef Nadarkhani has announced that he will continue his hunger strike "until the obstacles facing his children to continue their education are removed."
This imprisoned priest has three children who, due to their family's Christian leanings, refused to attend religious and Quran classes at school. Therefore, no grades were given to them for these two subjects, and despite their regular attendance in other classes, they were not issued a pass report card for the ninth grade and above.
Yousef Nadarkhani, a priest who has been arrested many times by the Iranian government, has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Mashaallah Ahmadzadeh, to 10 years in prison and two years of exile to Nikshahr County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, on charges of "acting against national security by promoting Christianity."
This imprisoned priest and member of the Church of Iran was arrested on September 21, 2018, at his home in Rasht to serve his sentence. After being transferred to Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, he was transferred to Evin Prison.
Yousef Nadrakhani, who converted to Christianity at the age of 19, was previously arrested in 2009 on charges of "abandoning religion" and "inviting other Muslims to Christianity," "establishing a secret church in his home," and "expressing open opposition to Islam." He was sentenced to death for the crime of apostasy, but was released from prison in 2012 after serving three years of his sentence.
In May of this year, the latest report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom announced that the number of arrests of Christians in Iran increased sharply in 2018, with at least 171 Christians arrested this year, compared to only sixteen in 2017.
The United States has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic's regime's repression of followers of religious and secular minorities, including Christian converts, Baha'is, Dervishes, and even Sunni Muslims.
Source: Voice of America
