Believers must report to prison to serve one-year sentence

Present Truth Ministries 07 September 2011

Iranian believers are facing
imprisonment for their witness.

Five Iranian Christians and ministers who were convicted of crimes against the Islamic Order on March 8, 2011 in Shiraz, Iran, have been told to report to prison immediately to serve a one-year prison sentence. According to Jason DeMars of Present Truth Ministries their names are: Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi "Petros" Furutan, Mohammed "William" Belyad, Nazly Belyad, and Parviz Khalaj.

According to DeMars, Nazly is approximately seven months pregnant. "This absolutely breaks our heart. Please pray for these brothers, our sister, and the little baby that is growing inside of her. We ask that you pray for miracles to take place so that she does not have to be in prison," he said.

Please pray the authorities will have mercy on this group of Christians, especially Nazly. Pray they will not despair but instead they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; 12:1-3).

For more on Iran, visit the Iran Country Report.

Current Ministry Fund
By funding television broadcasts, VOMC is making it possible for a vast audience of viewers to be reached throughout Iran with the "Good News" of Jesus' love via satellite.

Project Fund: Underground Church
Country Information
Designation
Persecuted

Population
87,590,873 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity
Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribes

Religion (%)
Islam (98.5), Christian (0.7), Baha'i (0.3), agnostic (0.3), other (0.2)

Leader
Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Khamenei (1989)

Government type
Theocratic republic

Legal system
Religious legal system based on secular and Islamic law

Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Iran
As the Gospel message goes forth over the airwaves, may the growth of the church continue to multiply despite persecution. Pray that the Iranian government will be open to change, allowing full rights and protection for its non-Muslim citizens as well. In the meantime, may those who are forced to flee the country find safe refuge and help so they can live in peace and worship the Lord with freedom.