Arrests mark new wave of persecution for Christians in Iran: The Church of England Newspaper, Jan 14, 2011 p 7.

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.

In a series of pre-dawn raids on Christmas morning, the Iranian security services have arrested leaders of the Evangelical Christian movement in Tehran.  Twenty-five were detained, Elam Ministries said on Jan 5, with reports that another 50 had been arrested over the past two weeks.

The Governor of Tehran, Morteza Tamaddon, on Jan 4 told the state IRNA news agency “the leaders of this movement have been arrested in Tehran province and more will be arrested in the near future.”

Evangelical Christians were a danger to the state and a “corrupt” foreign influence, the governor said.  “Just like the Taliban, who have inserted themselves into Islam like a parasite, they have crafted a movement with Britain’s backing in the name of Christianity,” Governor Tamaddon said.

Approximately 200,000 or one percent of Iran’s population, belong to officially sanctioned groups that have historic ties to the region such as the Armenian, Assyrian and Catholic Churches.   The number of Protestant Christians is not clear.  In 1979, there were less than 500 known Christians from a Muslim background in Iran.  “Today the most conservative estimate is that there are at least 100,000 believers in the nation,” reports Elam Ministry—a British based Christian ministry to Persians.

On its website, Elam Ministries reported that on Christmas morning in Tehran the security services “forcefully entered the homes of Christians while they were asleep, and verbally and physically abused them. They were handcuffed and taken for interrogation. Among those arrested were five married couples. One couple was separated from their two-year old baby. Another couple was also forced to leave their baby that the mother was breast feeding. A number of single young women were also among those taken.”

“After many hours of interrogation, eleven of the detained were released. The other fourteen are still in prison. There has been no contact from eight of the arrested. Six have been able to make a very short call to their families. In one of the brief calls, one of the arrested complained that they are being subjected to sleep deprivation,” Elam Ministries reported.

Iran expert Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute has reported that his sources claim 601 Christian converts have been arrested in over the past four months.  “It’s a very big campaign,” he added.

Andrew Johnston, Advocacy Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW0, condemned the “brutal attack on evangelical Christians in Iran. The arrest of 70 members of one group reveals the clear targeting of individuals along religious lines. Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is therefore legally obligated to uphold international standards of religious freedom for all its citizens.”

“What’s most troubling about this wave of detentions is the fact that Iran is continuing its recent trend of targeting Evangelical Christians, which they’ve been doing for years, and also leaders from the recognized and protected Armenian Christian community,” said Leonard Leo of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The US government commission called on the “Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release those Christians who have been detained and urge[d] the U.S. government and international community to condemn these detentions and demand the detainees release.”

No charges have been filed against those still in custody, nor have they been afforded legal representation, Elam Ministries said, while the names of all those detained have not been made public by the Iranian government.

On Jan 5 Elam Ministries released the names and photographs of some of those arrested and urged “Christians all over the world to intercede for our brothers and sisters in prison in Iran.”

“Let us pray that they will experience the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, even in their prison cells,” it said, asking also that those in prison for their faith “will have supernatural endurance and courage through this trial, and be shining witnesses to the guards and other inmates. Pray for peace and wisdom when they are being interrogated. Pray for their health. Pray for comfort and confidence for their families. Pray they will soon be released.”