Photos: Article 18
With thankfulness to God for His faithfulness, we are pleased to announce that the following two believers, both of whom were imprisoned for their faith in Iran, have been released during recent days:
Pastor Anooshavan Avedian was arrested in 2020 and charged with spreading "propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam." In 2022, an Iranian court convicted and sentenced him to ten years in prison. The pastor officially began serving his sentence in the notorious Evin Prison as of September 18th, 2023.
On September 24th of this year, an appeals court acquitted Pastor Anooshavan of all charges and ordered that he be released from prison. Upon his release, the Christian leader was reported as being excited and glad. He was also deeply relieved to learn that everyone in his family had been doing well. For background reports published by VOMC regarding Pastor Anooshavan's case, go to this page.
Mehdi "Yasser" Akbari, a single parent of a disabled son, was arrested in 2019 on charges of "acting against national security" – a common accusation used against Iranian Christians. After being sentenced to ten years in prison, Yasser had been taken into custody and his son was sent to a facility where he sadly passed away in 2021. Despite Yasser's pleas to the authorities, he was not allowed to be present for his son's burial. See more details about this heartrending situation.
After Yasser had served more than four years in prison, judicial officials of the country's Supreme Court agreed to hear his case in April 2024. As a result of this most recent hearing, the Christian man's sentence was reduced to four years and five months. On September 29th, Yasser had finally received permission to leave the prison as a free man! Just outside of the Evin Prison facility, his elated family members joyfully greeted him. Joining in this momentous event was Mehdi Rokhparvar, a fellow Iranian believer who had formerly been imprisoned because of his faith but released last year.
Praise God that these imprisoned believers have been released from custody! Pray that the court officials will likewise respond impartially when hearing the cases of other innocent Christians who are serving time in various prisons across this Middle Eastern nation. May these presently incarcerated followers of Jesus be safely released as well. In general, please continue to pray for the ongoing ministry of all our Iranian brothers and sisters in Christ as they courageously reach out to those around them with God's love – seizing opportunities to speak of the blessed hope and joyous spiritual freedom that are readily available through faith in Jesus.
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