Waves of arrests hit church networks; judge asks converts from Islam to recant.
LOS ANGELES, August 11 (Compass Direct News) – More than 30 Christians were arrested in the past two weeks near Tehran and in the northern city of Rasht. Two waves of arrests near Tehran happened within days of each other, and while most of those detained – all converts from Islam – were held just a day for questioning, a total of eight Christians still remain in prison. In Rasht, eight Christians belonging to the same network were arrested on July 29 and 30 in two separate rounds of arrest. Seven were released, while one, a male, remains in the city’s prison. And on Sunday (Aug. 9), two Christian women appeared before a judge who asked them if they would deny their newfound faith and return to Islam, reported the Farsi Christian News Network. Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, have been held in the notorious Evin prison since March 5 accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings.” As both women refused to recant their faith, the judge sent them back to their prison cells “to think about it,” according to a source who spoke with family members. “When they said, ‘Think about it,’ it means you are going back to jail,” said the source. “This is something we say in Iran. It means: ‘Since you’re not sorry, you’ll stay in jail for a long time, and maybe you’ll change your mind.’” Click here to read the rest.