Last Monday, eight Iranians were sentenced to between 11 and 21 years in prison for what they posted on Facebook. Why were they sentenced? Because their updates were interpreted as propaganda against either the regime, Iran's leaders or Islamic values. Access to social media, including Twitter and Facebook, is regularly filtered by the authorities in Iran just like other internet sites. Eight others were jailed in May for their online 'crimes'.
Before his election last year, President Rouhani promised greater freedom on social and cultural issues and in the media - a promise that helped him beat the hardliners. However, his attempts to create greater freedom have been met with resistance from the hardliners who hold a majority in parliament.
Blog - and die
One of the worst cases of Iranian cyber police is that of Sattar Beheshti, a 35-year-old factory worker who liked to blog. At times he was critical of the regime. Beheshti was arrested by the Cyber Police on November 4, 2012. A few days later he was dead. It caused an outcry in parliament and elsewhere, not least because Beheshti was completely unknown, an ordinary man who happened to have a blog. So far, seven people have been arrested and former President Ahmadinejad fired the then head of Iran's cyber police.
According to the Danish European Mission's partner, one clear message remains: Iranians must be very careful when using the internet. And the risk of being arrested makes people very stressed.
Young Iranians are open to the message of Jesus
More than an estimated 65 percent of the population of Iran is under the age of 30, and they did not participate in the 1979 revolution. The young generation is particularly disillusioned with Islamic rule, but also open to the good news of Jesus Christ. Since the Islamic clerical regime took power in 1979, the number of Muslims who have converted from Islam to the Christian faith has increased from 500 to 400,000, which is even a conservative estimate. To meet this thirst for God's life-giving Word, the Danish European Mission supports the printing and distribution of Bibles to the Iranian people. If you want to meet people's longing, you can use the red support box.
Let us also pray for greater online freedom in Iran, not least because the internet is a crucial platform for the Iranian church. A growing part of the church's evangelism and discipleship training takes place online.
Ask for:
- Fair internet freedom laws
- Acquittal in the appeals of the imprisoned Iranians
- Peace of mind for Christians serving online
