Iranian Pastor Launched from Jail Following Worldwide Outcry
11/8/2024 Iran (Worldwide Christian Concern) — After serving multiple yr of his 10-year jail sentence, an Armenian-Iranian pastor just lately gained freedom from Tehran’s Evin Jail following public outcry.
Pastor Anooshavan Avedian, imprisoned on Sept. 18, 2023, was acquitted of his crimes and launched on Sept. 24, 2024. Earlier than his launch, Worldwide Christian Concern, The Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doorways, Center East Concern, Article 18, and Barnabas Help raised issues about his case and known as for his launch.
Avedian was arrested on Aug. 21, 2020, after roughly 30 Iranian authorities invaded his residence, the place a bunch of Christians had been praying and studying about Jesus. Authorities took everybody’s Bibles and telephones and compelled them to share the passwords for his or her gadgets.
Authorities charged Avedian with “establishing and main an unlawful group with the intention of disrupting the safety of the nation by instructional and propaganda actions opposite to, and disturbing the holy faith of Islam, by the dissemination of false claims.”
Iran is ruled by Sharia legislation and makes use of the loss of life penalty for individuals who insult the Prophet Muhammad. The U.S. Secretary of State has designated Iran as a Nation of Specific Concern for its excessive abuses of non secular freedom. Authorities goal Christians, particularly Muslims who illegally convert to Christianity.
In response to the US Fee on Worldwide Non secular Freedom (USCIRF), those that convert are sometimes coerced into abstaining from working towards their religion.
“Christian converts from Islam reported being detained and compelled to signal commitments to chorus from additional Christian actions or ordered to attend Islamic re-education classes,” USCIRF reported in 2023.
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