days of raids and interrogations by the Iranian secret police, Christians said.
Since last Sunday, December 10, security forces reportedly raided homes of leaders of the Islamic republic’s indigenous ‘Jesus Only’ movement, apparently arriving unannounced in the early morning hours to search homes in Tehran, Karaj, Rasht and Bandar-i Anzali.
News reports say those detained face 10 accusations, including evangelization activities and actions against the national security of Iran. Under Iran’s strict apostasy laws, any Muslim who leaves Islam to embrace another religion faces the death penalty.
Police authorities reportedly also confiscated computers, CDs, tapes, Bibles and printed evangelistic literature found in the homes they searched, Christian news agency Compass Direct quoted the Farsi Christian News Network website.
INTERROGATIONS
Iranian Christians said several members of the house church movement have been called in for interrogations, and that eight remain under arrest, including one woman.
The pastors and active members still held in custody were identified as Behnam Irani and Peyman Salarvand, from Karaj; Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Shirin Sadegh-Khandjani and Hamid Reza Toluinia, from Tehran; and Yousef Nadarkhani, Parviz Khalaj and Muhammad Reza-Taghizadeh, from Rasht.
Two prisoners, Seyed Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad from Bandar-i Anzali and Bahman Irani from Karaj, were set free this week, Compass Direct said. There were no reactions from the Iranian government. Members of the house church movement of at least 600 people were apparently warned by police authorities not to send any news about the arrests outside of Iran.
NONDENOMINATIONAL
An indigenous house church movement, the group describes itself as a nondenominational Christian community of "free evangelicals," somewhere between Baptists and Pentecostals in theology. But Iran’s evangelical community reportedly questions some of the group’s doctrines, including its alleged rejection of the Trinity, or God represnted in the Father, Son and Holy Sprit.
Over the past year Iran’s Islamic regime has targeted various Christian groups known to use literature and other means to spread their faith among the majority Shiite Muslim population.
In at least eight known incidents this year, former Muslims who had converted to Christianity were arrested and held in custody for several weeks before being released. Most of them were reportedly forced to pay large bail amounts and told their cases remained open for possible criminal prosecution.
Christian and Jewish minorities have expressed concerns about the perceived increased persecution under current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who this week oversaw a controversial conference questioning the World War Two’s Holocaust, in which six million Jews died. (With reports from Iran).
