Maryam (on left)
Photo: Mohabat News
Maryam Naghash Zargaran has been prematurely transferred back to her prison cell before hospital medics were able to complete their treatment of her serious health problems. An Iranian Christian who converted from Islam, Maryam has been imprisoned in Tehran for three years, with one more year remaining in her four-year sentence.
The incarcerated believer was recently on a hunger strike in protest of the prison's failure to provide proper medical care. Sources close to her family say that Maryam reached a state of being "almost comatose" by the time she was finally allowed out of Evin Prison for treatment. When a court ordered Maryam's return to prison, her family applied to have her medical leave extended. However, the prosecutor's office refused, threatening to confiscate her bond money (an amount equivalent to about $127,000 Canadian).
The young woman was arrested in 2013 and charged with "acting against national security" in connection with her work at an orphanage alongside Pastor Saeed Abedini. Pastor Saeed, having been granted dual American-Iranian citizenship after immigrating to the States years ago, was released from prison in January of this year. A previous report on Maryam's situation is available here.
We invite you to join us in praying that God, in His great mercy and compassion, will bring needed healing and comfort to our Iranian Christian sister Maryam, trusting Him for her timely release from imprisonment. May He continue to console and encourage her family members and friends who are understandably very concerned over her health condition and well-being. At the same time, let's be mindful of every Christian in Iran today who is behind bars for their faith, praying that each of them will sense "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding..." (Philippians 4:7).
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