Arrest of Christian Citizens by Security Forces in Five Cities
A number of Christian citizens have been arrested by security forces in at least five different cities.
“Article 18 Organization” reported the arrest of dozens of Christian citizens from last week to the present by security and intelligence forces of the Revolutionary Guard.
In recent months, coinciding with the start of the revolutionary uprising, the Islamic Republic system released a number of Christian citizens who had been arrested and sentenced to prison. Among them are Sara Ahmadi and Homayoun Zhaveh, who were imprisoned due to their Christian faith and peaceful activities, and were released in recent months. The appeals court ruling regarding them states: “Neither belief in Christianity is a crime, nor is holding meetings with other Christians in homes. Being together with co-religionists is a natural and customary matter, and possessing books related to Christianity is part of their religious beliefs.”
The ruling issued by the appeals court for the aforementioned individuals came at a time when, from the past until now, many Christian citizens have been oppressed, arrested, imprisoned, and tortured merely for worship, reading the Bible, attending house churches, and worshipping God with other Christians. We have also witnessed the burning of Bibles by regime forces in many cases.
Regarding the issued ruling, it can be inferred that the issuance of this ruling and the release of prisoners was only to calm public sentiment and show that the system has no problem with those who have Christian faith, and that belief and faith in all religions in Iran are free and a normal and acceptable matter for the system.
Now, with the approach of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death and the beginning of the revolutionary uprising, not only have guidance patrols returned to the streets, but security and intelligence officers have once again arrested Christian citizens and closed house churches.
From last week to now, in the cities of Tehran, Karaj, Aligudarz, Rasht, and Urmia, a number of Christian citizens have been targeted by security and intelligence forces of the Revolutionary Guard. Security and Revolutionary Guard forces have attacked the homes of Christians and house churches in the aforementioned cities, and have so far arrested 53 people and confiscated their Bibles and some personal belongings.
It should be noted that according to news released by Christian organizations, at least five citizens were arrested during the protests in which they participated actively, and have been charged with “apostasy” due to their belief and faith in Christ.
