Iran: Three Released!

Three Iranian believers were set free on Saturday, April 30, 2011 after 238 days in prison. A fourth believer who was arrested at the same time remains in custody. Arash Kermanjani and his wife, Arezou Teimouri, were at the home of Pastor Vahik Abrahamian and his wife, Sonia, when they were arrested together on Sept. 4, 2010.

The four were taken before a judge on April 28, and they and their lawyers were asked to present their cases. Two days after the hearing, the judge unexpectedly ordered the release of Arash Kermanjani, Arezou Teimouri and Sonia Keshish-Avanesian, the wife of Pastor Vahik. Sonia does not know why her husband was not freed at the same time, and she is extremely worried about him.

Left to Right: Vahik Abrahamian, Sonia Keshish-Avanesian, Arash Kermanjani, and Arezo Teymouri

Friends who have seen the three released believers say they are very weak and thin. Though free, they may be called before a judge and re-imprisoned at any time. Please pray for Pastor Vahik, who remains in prison.

On the day Pastor Vahik and the other three were arrested, several other Christians in Hamadan were also arrested by security forces. Iranian state TV later reported that nine Christians had been arrested on charges of spreading Christian propaganda, calling those arrested “Zionist Christian Evangelicals.”

Mohabat News reported, “These actions coincide with the recent warnings issued by the government and the high ranking clerics who have labeled the public’s interest in Christianity as ‘soft war’ on Islam.”

Source: FCNN, Mohabat News