Currently, we know of eight Iranian Christians who are still in prison for their faith. Six of them have spent many months in captivity: Farshid Fathi (who visited Danmark six years ago), Vahik Abrahamian, Ibrahim Firouzi, Masoud Delijani, Nurollah Ghabitzadeh and Yousef Nadarkhani. The latter is on death row.
Very little news has been released about the wellbeing of these prisoners, but there are unconfirmed reports of ill health, solitary confinement and continued ill-treatment. The continued silence adds to the pressure felt by families and supporters of the detainees.
Two Christians from the Iranian province of Azerbaijan, Vahid Rofegar and Reza Khanamoei, were arrested on July 15 near the city of Kalibar and are now in prison. These arrests may be related to complaints about the spread of Christianity in the province of Azerbaijan.
The majority of the nearly 300 believers arrested in the last year have been released, either on bail or with serious warnings against further Christian activity.
We ask for prayers for news from the prisons, for the relatives of the persecuted and wisdom for those who speak for the persecuted.
