Release International

The wife of an Assyrian pastor recently detained for his faith says he bears the 'visible marks of torture' and has been threatened with execution.

Rev Wilson Issavi, leader of the Assyrian Evangelical Church of Kermanshah in Isfahan, is being held in 'dreadful conditions' and appears to have been tortured, according to his wife Medline Nazanin who was allowed to visit him recently. And she has been told by intelligence officials that her husband is 'awaiting his trial and his death sentence'.

Rev Issavi, 65, was seized at a friend's house near Isfahan, 200 miles south of Tehran, on February 2 (Prayer Alert, March 2, 2010). For weeks, his wife Medline had no information about where her husband was being held. The Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN) reports that Rev Issavi is accused of converting Muslims to Christianity and conducting their baptisms.

Prayer Alert reported on March 2 that Rev Issavi's church was forcibly closed down in January and has not reopened since. FCCN reports that its congregation are now under government surveillance.

Meanwhile, on February 28, police in Isfahan arrested a Christian married couple, Hamid Shafiee and his wife Reyhaneh Aghajary, both of whom were raised as Muslims. Police raided their home when Hamid was out and Reyhaneh was meeting with other Christians there. She was handcuffed, pepper-sprayed and beaten. Her husband was arrested when he returned home an hour later. The couple's whereabouts and condition are not known.

(Sources: Compass Direct, Farsi Christian News Network)

• Pray that Rev Issavi will know that God bestows glory on him and lifts up his head (Psalm 3:3). Pray also for his wife Medline.
• Pray for the safety and swift release of Hamid and Reyhaneh from Isfahan.

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