Update: Petros Fourotan released from prison, other Christians imprisoned

Present Truth Ministries 14 June 2012

Praise God for the release of Petros Fourotan!
Source: Present Truth Ministries

On June 10, Mehdi "Petros" Foroutan was released from prison. In total he served about one year in prison for crimes against national security because of his Christian faith (for more, click here).

Meanwhile, Youcef Nadarkhani remains in Lakan Prison in Rasht, Iran. He is still awaiting an official response from the local court regarding his trial in September 2011 (for more on his case, please click here). Behnam Irani is still in Ghezal Hezar prison. His faith remains strong but he is in very poor health and the prison officials are still not allowing him to visit a doctor (click here for more on Behnam).

Praise God for the release of Petros! Ask the Lord to minister to him and help him to overcome this long ordeal. Pray the Lord will use his testimony to draw other Iranians to faith in Him. Pray for the release of Youcef and Behnam. Pray also that God will fill their hearts with a peace beyond comprehension as they bring their needs to the Lord and rejoice in Him (Philippians 4:4-7).

You can learn more about Iran's persecuted Church by visiting 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.