{"id":3126,"date":"2022-05-06T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T08:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opendoorsuk.org\/?p=3126"},"modified":"2024-02-14T14:16:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T14:16:03","slug":"news-latest-news-iran-women-prison","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/news\/latest-news\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two Christian women from Iran have started two-year prison sentences for involvement in church activities. The news reinforces the unpredictability of Iran&#8217;s justice system, after nine Christians were acquitted of charges earlier this year for participation in a house church. Please continue to lift your Iranian family in prayer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n    <section class=\"standard-page \" role=\"document\" style=\"\">\n        <div class=\"container\">\n            \n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399.jpg 930w, https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399-768x329.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Fariba is yet another Iranian Christian imprisoned for her faith<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two Christian women \u2013 one of whom is recently married \u2013 have begun two-year prison sentences for involvement in church activities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fariba Dalir and Sakine (Mehri) Behjati are both converts and started their sentences on Holy Saturday (16 April). Fariba is in Iran\u2019s notorious Evin Prison in the capital Tehran, while Sakine is in Lakan Prison in the northern city of Rasht.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Imprisoned for starting a church<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fariba was arrested in July 2021 along with five other Christians, including Soroush who was then her fianc\u00e9. The couple and three others were sentenced in December, while a 17-year-old girl was released after spending ten days in solitary confinement and being subjected to intense interrogation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, only Fariba has ended up in prison for \u2018acting against national security by establishing and leading an Evangelical Christian church\u2019. The other four were given ten-month sentences for membership of a house church but, because they had already served time in detention, they were given the option to pay a fine of five million tomans each (around \u00a3200) and not go to jail.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fariba and Soroush got married while awaiting their sentencing and will now be separated for two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mehri Behjati was among a different group of four Christian converts arrested in February 2020 for involvement in a house church in Rasht. They received between two and five years in prison for \u2018acting against national security\u2019 and \u2018spreading Zionist Christianity\u2019. Behjati was handed a two-year sentence. Her appeal was rejected by Iran\u2019s Supreme Court.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While one of those convicted started their four-year prison sentence earlier this year, Behjati was allowed to spend the Iranian new year with her family before reporting to prison on Holy Saturday. The two others are waiting to start their sentences. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unpredictable justice system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The news is a setback to Iran\u2019s minority Christian population after the encouragement that came earlier this year with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news-latest-news-iran-converts-acquitted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the acquittal of nine Christians prisoners<\/a>&nbsp;for participation in a house church. This was after Iran\u2019s Supreme Court ordered a review of the sentences, saying that sharing the Christian faith in a private home is not \u2018gathering and collusion against internal or external security\u2019, as the original verdict alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These recent verdicts highlight the unpredictability of Iran\u2019s justice system, extending even to the country\u2019s Supreme Court. It means that, as Christians across the country continue to bravely gather in homes for worship, Bible teaching and fellowship, they still do so at great risk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a report to the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, said he was concerned about the \u2018continued repression of religious minorities\u2019, including at least 53 Christians who had been arrested between 1 January and 1 December 2021 for practising their faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/countries-watch\/iran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">number nine on the World Watch List<\/a>, making it still one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/articleeighteen.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 18<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Christian women from Iran have started two-year prison sentences for involvement in church activities. The news reinforces the unpredictability of Iran&#8217;s justice system, after nine Christians were acquitted of charges earlier this year for participation in a house church. Please continue to lift your Iranian family in prayer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":3127,"parent":8268,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[130],"class_list":["post-3126","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-iran"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities - Open Doors Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities - Open Doors Ireland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two Christian women from Iran have started two-year prison sentences for involvement in church activities. The news reinforces the unpredictability of Iran&#8217;s justice system, after nine Christians were acquitted of charges earlier this year for participation in a house church. Please continue to lift your Iranian family in prayer.&nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Open Doors Ireland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-14T14:16:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"930\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/\",\"name\":\"Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities - Open Doors Ireland\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-06T08:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-14T14:16:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/06.05.2022-Iran-930-399.jpg\",\"width\":930,\"height\":399},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Latest stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/\",\"name\":\"Open Doors Ireland\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities - Open Doors Ireland","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Two women in Iran sent to prison for church activities - Open Doors Ireland","og_description":"Two Christian women from Iran have started two-year prison sentences for involvement in church activities. 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The news reinforces the unpredictability of Iran&#8217;s justice system, after nine Christians were acquitted of charges earlier this year for participation in a house church. 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