Family arrests of Christian converts in Iran
Ehsan.S. FCNN News Agency: In order to counter the growing tendency of Iranians, especially the youth of this country, towards Christianity, the authorities of the Islamic Republic are increasing their arrests and harassment of converts and subjecting them to constant harassment. In recent months, the regime's policy has turned towards family arrests. According to FCNN, in line with these policies, 50 Christian converts have been arrested in this way in the last two months.
A number of detainees in Kerman who are now free on bail have stated that most of the detainees are under pressure and psychological torture to participate in television interviews and make false confessions.
In a way, regime officials force them to introduce themselves in television interviews as affiliated with Christian media and organizations abroad so that false accusations can be leveled against them.
A large portion of converts are facing successive arrests. In the past decade, they have been accused and arrested many times.
The arrest of 25 Christian converts in Kerman is one such case.
These compatriots were arrested in Kerman on October 25 of this year.
According to FCNN, several of them, along with their wives and children, were charged. It is said that there is still no word on their legal sentence and they are living in uncertainty.
Ahmad Sepehri and his wife Hamideh Muhaddis are among those arrested.
Sepehri is one of Kerman's masters of reed and calligraphy and has been honored many times.
It is said that the family members of Professor Sepehri and his wife believed in Christ the Lord and had a family partnership, and were not affiliated with any church or organization outside the country.
This Christian family was previously detained for a day in July 2008 while leaving the country for Armenia, and Ministry of Intelligence agents searched their home and confiscated their books and personal belongings.
The second arrest of this Christian family, who are said to be not affiliated with any church or organization outside the country, occurred in October.
At 7:00 AM on October 25, before Sepehri left his home, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence entered his home with a warrant for action against national security and arrested him and his wife.
These arrests simultaneously occurred in the three cities of Kerman, Sirjan, and Rafsanjan, including Christian converts. Some of these people have been released on bail or a commitment and threatened not to send any information abroad. As such, all their communications with the outside world are under threat and under strict control of the regime's authorities.
In addition, the authorities of the Islamic Republic are also pursuing the destruction of churches.
The destruction of Kerman's only church is one of these. This church was built in 1320 AH by the famous Kermani architect "Ali Mohammad Ravari" outside the city limits of Kerman, but later, as the city developed, it was placed in the center of Kerman.
This church was confiscated many years ago, and later part of it was allocated to the prosecutor's house at the time, and its hall was used as a place to raise the prosecutor's cows and sheep. At the same time, the Kerman Bidari magazine began reporting on this issue by publishing photos of the church hall, which was full of domestic animals, but it remained silent after being threatened by some officials.
Following this, most of Kerman's Christians left the city in protest, and the efforts of journalists led to this place being added to the national register.
But finally, suddenly and overnight in 2011, the church was razed to the ground by a loader. It is said that a large commercial complex belonging to one of the organizations is to be built on this land.
According to FCNN, Iran was named the ninth most anti-Christian country in 2015. However, despite the persecution and torture inflicted on Christians by the Iranian government, the church in Iran continues to grow and survive.
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