Iran (MNN) — Six Christians from a minority community in Iran just received sentences totaling 40 years behind bars.
One believer who received a 15-year sentence stands accused of “threatening national security” and “propaganda against the regime through promoting Christianity.” Charges against the other five believers remain unknown.
Heart4Iran’s Mike Ansari says one thing is clear: “This collective sentencing could be a method to send a strong message and warning to others who may consider converting to Christianity.”
Iran’s new president-elect is a member of the minority community, which seems like it would offer a measure of protection to ethnic minorities. However, these harsh sentences were all handed out to minority Christians in the days leading up to Iran’s July 5 run-off election.
“For a few days, minorities became citizens” in the public eye, Ansari says, “and now we realize that those minorities are irrelevant.
“The location of this persecution is a place where you have a lot of minorities residing. There is no coincidence [in] this persecution’s timing so close to the election.”
Believers have a legal option to appeal these sentences, but “appealing the sentence usually requires extensive legal representation, which can be very challenging due to the constraints imposed on Christians in the country,” Ansari says.
(Photo courtesy Heart4Iran)
“During the appeal process, the legal system most likely is not going to be able to maintain impartiality and fairness,” he continues.
“Given Iran’s political and religious biases, the appeal courts might also be influenced by the same pressure or forces that led initially to the arrest and sentencing of these individuals. This makes the process of appealing both difficult for the individual and their families, something we have seen in the past.”
We cannot change Iran’s judicial system, but we know the Lord who holds Iran in His hands. “There is power in prayer. That’s why we ask the international community to stand next to these individuals and pray for them,” Ansari says.
“Pray for comfort and peace. These are very, very difficult, stressful times. Pray for strength and endurance, protection and deliverance.”
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“The international community needs to bring attention to these cases, and that’s crucial. External pressure and awareness have always played a huge favorable role in helping the persecuted,” Ansari says.
Header image is a representative photo courtesy of Ehsan Habashi/Unsplash.
