{"id":4776,"date":"2023-05-03T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T13:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opendoorsuk.org\/?p=4776"},"modified":"2024-02-13T14:22:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T14:22:09","slug":"iran-christians-three","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/news\/latest-news\/iran-christians-three\/","title":{"rendered":"Update: Christian convert released to be with son who has leukaemia"},"content":{"rendered":"    <section class=\"standard-page \" role=\"document\" style=\"\">\n        <div class=\"container\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A convert imprisoned for Christian activity has been released to be with her son who has leukaemia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/iran-780-prisoners-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/iran-780-prisoners-2.jpg 780w, https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/iran-780-prisoners-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/iran-780-prisoners-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Malihe Nazari (left), Joseph Shahbazian and Mina Khajavi were given a combined 22 years in prison<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In good news, a Christian convert serving a six-year prison sentence has been released, just two days before her son \u2013 who suffers from leukaemia \u2013 turned 25.&nbsp;Malihe Nazari&nbsp;is believed to have been granted&nbsp;her&nbsp;release by the Supreme Court due to her son&#8217;s condition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She was sentenced last year alongside\u00a0two other converts, Mina Khajavi and Joseph Shahbazian. Mina has yet to serve her sentence due to ill health (she suffered a bad ankle break when a car ran over her last year), whilst Joseph \u2013 an Iranian-Armenian pastor \u2013 remains in prison but the Supreme Court has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/iran-retrial\/#:~:text=A%20retrial%20also%20for%20Armenian%20pastor%20in%20Iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ordered a retrial of his case<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Please pray<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Praise God for Malihe\u2019s release<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That Malihe will recover from her ordeal and that&nbsp;her son will be completely heal&nbsp;of leukaemia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That the charges against Mina and Joseph will be dropped.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/articleeighteen.com\/news\/13151\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 18<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8212;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>23 June 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Iranian government maintains it allows religious freedom as three Christians sentenced to 6-10 years in prison<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three Iranian Christians have been given prison sentences totalling 22 years for organising and establishing house churches \u2013 all while the government maintains it espouses freedom of religion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Imprisonment, exile and fines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June and July 2020, seven Christian converts were among dozens arrested in a series of raids. Earlier this month, three of these believers \u2013 Joseph Shahbazian (58), Mina Khajavi (59) and Malihe Nazari (48) \u2013 were given prison sentences for taking a leading role in house church activities with \u2018the intention of disturbing national security\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joseph Shahbazian \u2013 an Iranian-Armenian pastor \u2013 was given a ten-year sentence followed by a two-year exile in a remote part of Iran. After his release, he will not be allowed to travel abroad or become a member of a social or political group, and he will be required to report regularly to Iran\u2019s intelligence service for two years. The two women were given six-year sentences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other four converts \u2013 Salar Eshraghi Moghadam, Farhad Khazaee, Somayeh (Sonya) Sadegh and her mother Masoumeh Ghasemi \u2013 also received prison sentences but were instead allowed to pay fines (approximately between \u00a3650 and \u00a31,000). They all now have criminal records which will impact future opportunities such as employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Article 18, the judge who presided over the case, Iman Afshari, is \u2018fast building a reputation for harsh sentences against Christians\u2019. In April, he sentenced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news-latest-news-iran-women-prison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fariba Dalir<\/a>, another woman convert, to two-years imprisonment for \u2018acting against national security\u2019 by establishing and leading a church.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Government\u2019s words ring hollow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">News of these verdicts come&nbsp;as the Iranian government \u2013&nbsp;in response to a UN report about its human rights track record \u2013 maintains&nbsp;that its citizens enjoy freedom of religion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one is prosecuted in Iran for merely holding an opinion or belonging to a particular class or group,\u201d it said in a statement published by Iranian news agency Tasnim. \u201cStaging gatherings and rallies and attending assemblies is an undeniable right of citizens, which has been recognized in Article 27 of the Constitution and other regulations.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The news is yet another setback following the positive developments earlier this year with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/iran-converts-acquitted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the acquittal of nine prisoners<\/a>\u00a0who were imprisoned for their faith. It reinforces the unpredictable nature of justice in Iran and why Christians who continue to gather secretly do so knowing that it could land them in prison. Please continue to pray for our Iranian family who are following Jesus no matter the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source: Article 18<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":4781,"parent":8268,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[130],"class_list":["post-4776","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>Update: Christian convert released to be with son who has leukaemia - 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=\"Update: Christian convert released to be with son who has leukaemia - 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