Persecution & Prayer Alert

Baptist pastor Hamid Shabanov remains in jail after a court in Zakatala, Azerbaijan asked the prosecutor for "further investigation" on July 29. Mirman Aliev, Shabanov's lawyer, called the ruling a partial victory, according to a July 30 report by Forum 18. He said, "We called for Shabanov to be acquitted, for an end to the criminal case and for him to be freed. But the judge was afraid to do so and instead sent the case back for further investigation." The judge set a deadline of August 23. According to Aliev, there is no real evidence against Shabanov and his client is on trial "solely because he is Christian." The trial, to this point, has been full of irregularities. Aliev has complained of "numerous, gross violations of procedure" including forged documents, with alleged interrogations of Shabanov on days when no interrogations took place. Police have also wrongly claimed that copies of the Bible in Azeri and Georgian are "illegal."

Please remember Pastor Shabanov as he remains in detention. Pray that all charges will be dropped against him. Pray for other church leaders in Azerbaijan as they face persecution from authorities. Ilya Zenchenko, head of Azerbaijan's Baptist Union, was briefly detained and interrogated after Shabanov's trial and accused by Zakatala Deputy Police Chief Kamandar Hasanov of being "an English spy who acts only for money." Hasanov claims that there is "a special instruction not to allow Baptists to function in Zakatala District."

More information on the persecution facing Christians in Azerbaijan can be found at Azerbaijan Country Report.

Shi Weihan and his family Photo from China Aid

China Aid Association is reporting that the health of Shi Weihan, a Beijing book store owner and house church leader, has been deteriorating since his imprisonment four months ago (click here for more details). Poor prison conditions and refusal of diabetes medication have contributed to Shi's decline. He has reportedly lost more than 10 kg in body weight amidst the constant physical and psychological torture employed by prison officials. Recently Shi was coerced to sign a confession convicting him of "engaging in the printing and distribution of a large number of illegal publications." The charges stem from Shi's printing of Bibles and Christian literature which were sold at his Beijing Christian bookstore, but were deemed "illegal" by Beijing authorities because the books were not printed by the officially registered Three Self Patriotic Movement Church.

Remember Shi Weihan as he languishes in detention. Pray that God would sustain his health. Pray for his release.

More information on the persecution facing Christians in China can be found at China Country Report.

According to reports from Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), two elderly Christians, Abbas Amiri and his wife, Sakineh Rahnama, have died as a consequence of a police raid on a church meeting that was being conducted in their home on July 17. The couple had made their home available for the believers of the town to gather and to worship the Lord. According to FCNN, on July 17, the meeting was raided and several believers arrested. Abbas Amiri was attacked and beaten up by plain clothes security officers. Due to his old age and the extent of his injuries, he died at 4:30 p.m. on July 30 at a hospital in the city of Isfahan.

Tragically, a few days later, Amiri's wife, Sakineh Rahnama, who was also physically assaulted by security officers during the raid, died on August 3 in the city of Masjid-Sleiman. Local Christians blame her death on the combination of injuries she suffered and stress from her husband's death. When the family tried to hold a memorial service at the Amiri home, Iranian authorities told the family's relatives that they had no permission to conduct any kind of memorial or funeral services and that they had to leave the city immediately. When Rahnama's son got into an argument with the police, they punched and kicked him. Rahnama was buried on August 4 next to her beloved husband with family and friends in attendance.

Pray for the family of this couple as they grieve their loss. Pray for courage for local believers as they continue to serve the Lord despite harassment and arrest.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Iran, go to the Iran Country Report.