I just received news that Pastor Zaur Balaev was released from prison!!!  We here at The Voice of the Martyrs are rejoicing as Pastor Balaev was one of the prisoners highlighted in our Prisoner Alerts.  And we want you to know that your prayers and letters really did make the difference.

As of today in Pastor Balaev's case there were 57142 prisoner alerts sent beginning in December 2007 and  almost 3400 letters sent to encourage the pastor.

Pastor Balaev was arrested for  “conducting an illegal religious meeting” in his home village in Aliabad, Azerbaijan in May 2007 and he was sentenced to two years in prison.

Here is the entire The Voice of the Martyrs news release on this great release.

On March 19, Baptist Pastor Zaur Balaev was released from prison in Azerbaijan. The release was part of a presidential amnesty on Novruz Bairam, a holiday marking the beginning of spring.

Pastor Balaev was met outside the prison by his son (pictured), and Ilya Zenchenko, head of the Baptist Union. “When Balaev was released, journalists asked whether he was feeling grateful to Azerbaijan’s president for his release, Zaur answered that he always in everything feels grateful to Jesus only and no one else. Journalists immediately quit shooting (footage) of him,” VOM contacts said.

Pastor Zaur Balaev was arrested in May 2007, for “conducting an illegal religious meeting” in his home village in Aliabad, Azerbaijan. In August, he was sentenced to two years in prison under Article 315, Part 1, for violence against a state representative. The original charges accused him of holding “illegal” meetings under the guise of religious activity without concrete authority and registration. He was also accused of attracting young people to worship services and playing loud music at services. Azerbaijan’s authorities later changed their accusations while Balaev was in custody, initially claiming that he set a dog on police during a raid on a Sunday service. After more than 50 people signed a written statement testifying to Balaev’s innocence, the dog disappeared from the authorities’ claims and Balaev was instead accused of attacking five policemen and damaging a police door.

The Voice of the Martyrs featured Pastor Balaev on the group’s Christian prisoner web site, www.prisoneralert.com. Visitors to the site composed more than 3300 letters of encouragement to Balaev.

“We rejoice with Pastor Balaev and his family upon his release,” said Todd Nettleton, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs. “We rejoice in his faithfulness, and we thank our readers who wrote letters of encouragement to him in prison. Our prayers and our letters do make a difference for persecuted Christians like Pastor Zaur!”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages American Christians to continue praying for protection and wisdom for Pastor Balaev as he returns home to his family and congregation.