Ramtin Soodmand, was recently charged with promoting anti-government propaganda, apparently because of his Christian activities.
Ramtin, who was arrested on August 21, was permitted short phone calls to his wife throughout September, "but has recently been placed in solitary confinement," said the Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), an advocacy group closely monitoring the case. .
Soodmand surrender himself to authorities after repeated calls from officials telling him to travel from Mashhad, where he lives, to the capital Tehran, Christians said earlier. Shortly after his detention, Soodmand’s wife, Mitra, tried to visit her husband and was reportedly told to come back later. "Your husband is going to be in jail for a very long time," Christian sources reported that authorities told her.
WIFE AND CHILDREN
His wife and two young children have been allowed to visit him in Tehran, but could only speak with him through a phone receiver and apparently never saw him. In a short conversation, Soodmand told his wife several times, "I am fine, don’t worry," sources reported. No other family members or friends have been allowed to see or speak to Soodmand, and authorities have so far refused to explain their next steps.
"The charge against Ramtin has sparked concern that he may be tried under a draft law currently under review by the Council of Guardians that proposes a mandatory death penalty for apostasy," VOMC said in a statement to BosNewsLife.
Ramtin’s father, Assemblies of God Pastor Hossein Soodmand was the last known Christian in Iran to be officially executed for apostasy in 1990 and working as “an American spy.” Since then six more Protestant pastors have reportedly been assassinated by unknown killers. In addition, Christians have died after being tortured, church sources said.
COUPLE DIES
In one of recently published incidents, an evangelical couple, Abba Amiri and Sakineh Rahnama, both in their 60’s, died after being attacked by security forces in July while hosting an evangelical house church meeting in Malek-Shahr, a suburb of the central town of Isfahan, said Farsi Christian News Netwerk (FCNN), which has close contacts with Christians in Iran.
Due to his old age and "the extent of his injuries" Amiri died three days later, at a hospital in the city of, while his wife Rahnama died August 3, because of her injuries and what FCNN described as "the painful stress of separation from her husband" in the city of Masjid-Sleiman.
In addition dozens of Christians, including former Muslims, are reportedly imprisoned, while others await trials after having been caught evangelizing as part of an ongoing crackdown on Christianity in the Islamic nation, churches said. Rights watchers and church groups have linked the crackdown to concern among authorities that Christianity has been spreading in Iran.
