Mohammad Roghangir was sentenced to six years, Massoud Rezaie to five years, Mehdi Ameruni and Bijan Farokhpour Haghighi to three years, Shahin Lahooti and Suroush Saraie to two and half years each, while Eskandar Rezaie and Roxana Forughi were both sentenced to one year in prison.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has learned that eight members of the Church of Iran in Shiraz were sentenced to jail on 16 July after being found guilty of “action against the national security” and “propaganda against the order of the system”.
Mohammad Roghangir was sentenced to six years, Massoud Rezaie to five years, Mehdi Ameruni and Bijan Farokhpour Haghighi to three years, Shahin Lahooti and Suroush Saraie to two and half years each, while Eskandar Rezaie and Roxana Forughi were both sentenced to one year in prison.
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Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) urged the British Government to ensure that continuing grave violations of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, are put at the heart of discussions with Burma’s President Thein Sein during his visit to the United Kingdom next week. President Thein Sein is expected to arrive in London for a two-day official visit on 14 July and will meet the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the Foreign Secretary, William Hague. It is the first time a Burmese President has visited the UK in decades and is in recognition of the political reforms Thein Sein’s government has introduced over the past two years. It follows the UK visit in June 2012 of the leader of Burma’s democracy movement, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and a visit last month by leaders of the 88 Generation Student Movement. The pastor of Iran's largest Persian speaking Pentecostal church has been "conditionally released" from prison but his congregation in the capital Tehran remains closed, Iranian Christians told Worthy News. Robert Asserian, a key leader at the Central Assemblies of God Church, was taken into custody during a worship service on May 21 as part of a wider crackdown on growing evangelical churches in the country that authorities deem dangerous for the strict Islamic nation, Christians said. Mohabat News, an agency of Iranian Christians and activists, told Worthy News that there is "no clear information on how Pastor Asserian was released." However, "it appears that he was temporarily released on bail on July 2," they said, though the amount was not immediately revealed. While on a public sidewalk in front of the Centre Court Complex during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, An American preacher was arrested, fingerprinted, had DNA samples taken and then interrogated, after a woman out shopping called the police to complain that she was offended by what was being said. Tony Miano, a retired Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff who traveled to the UK with Sports Fan Outreach International as part of a mission to bring the Gospel to England, was speaking from 1 Thessalonians which mentions "sexual immorality" and had cited homosexuality alongside "fornication" as examples of what he believed went against "God's law". Imprisoned Chinese housing rights activist Ni Yulan has been denied medical parole despite suffering from a number of serious health problems including an untreated thyroid tumor, her daughter has said. Ni, who is a Christian, is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for “causing a disturbance”. Ni began practicing law in 1986. She worked on a variety of rights-related cases, including a number relating to religious freedom. From 2001 onwards she specialized in housing rights. In 2002, she was beaten and tortured for more than 50 hours while in police detention. As a result, she has been left permanently disabled and is unable to walk without crutches. Police officers attacked a Christian couple in Lào Cai province, Vietnam, last Monday after the couple refused to recant their newly found Christian faith. Police repeatedly struck both the husband and wife until the wife began bleeding, at which point the police halted the beating and released her. The attack came after police from the Muong Khuong district of Lào Cai province repeatedly summoned the heads of two recently converted Christian families, whose names are being withheld for their security, to the police station for questioning. The official police summons received by the families were vague, one of which stated only that they were to come in "for questioning." However, during the third interrogation, sources in Vietnam report that the police began to "strongly pressure" the Christians to recant their faith, despite the fact that such pressure is illegal under Vietnamese law. The family of Hoang Van Ngai, the Hmong Christian who died in police custody on 17 March, was notified in mid-May that the Vietnamese authorities’ investigation confirmed his death was caused by “suicide by self-electrocution.” However, the family believes that he was killed extra-judicially because of his defence of his church and determination to stand up to corrupt local officials. Hoang Van Ngai was an elder of Bui Tre Church, which belongs to the legally recognised Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South). Ngai’s older brother believes he made enemies amongst government officials because he stood up against abuses of power and refused to pay bribes. He also defended the church when the authorities tried to force them to close. A five-day tour by Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker Nick Vujicic was permitted to take place in Vietnam from 22 to 26 May, despite national restrictions on religious activities. Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs, spoke to 75 000 people at seven official events, three of which were shown on national television, as part of a ‘World Outreach’ tour which has an explicitly evangelistic aim, to “share the Good News of Jesus Christ”. At the end of his tour, Vujicic also preached at Gia Dinh Church in Ho Chi Minh City. The United Nations Human Rights Council heard directly from the wife of imprisoned Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini June 4 as she asked the international community to "do more" to ensure that Iran upholds its human rights obligations. "I hope that my presence here today will put a face to those who suffer when a government does not uphold its obligation to protect these freedoms," Naghmeh Abedini said, referring to the rights of religious freedom, expression and peaceful assembly. Reverend Robert Asserian, a pastor at the Central Assemblies of God (AoG) Church in Tehran, was arrested this morning while conducting a prayer meeting at the church. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has also received reports that the church may be forced to close by the end of June due to continued pressure from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry. Security forces are reported to have raided Rev. Asserian’s house this morning and confiscated some of his belongings, including his computer and books. They then proceeded to the church where he was leading a prayer meeting. He was arrested and taken to an unknown location. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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