Release International

A senior evangelical pastor is among a number of Christians detained in Iran in recent weeks.

Rev Wilson Issavi, leader of the Assyrian Evangelical Church in Karmanshah, has not been seen since state security officers arrested him near Isfahan on February 2. The pastor was seized at the home of a married couple who were also arrested, along with another female visitor. The wife of the host has since been released but the other three Christians remain in detention at an undisclosed location.

Rev Issavi's church, described as one of the last surviving historic church buildings in Iran, was closed in January, when officials also raided Rev Issavi's home. Iran's Christian minority is traditionally Assyrian or Armenian.

More recently, on February 16, a Christian couple, who were raised as Muslims, were arrested in the city of Karaj. The woman has been freed but her husband remains in detention, reportedly accused of proselytising.

Seven Christians with a Muslim background were arrested in Shiraz, south-west Iran, on January 11. Two of the seven have been released on bail – but the remaining five remain in custody. Middle East Concern reports that these five detainees have been offered bail but that bail has been set at a prohibitively high level – almost £20,000 each.

Two Christians in the northern city of Rasht, who are reportedly associates of the Shiraz detainees, have been held since their arrests in October and January respectively.

Three believers raised as Muslims are still in Tehran's Evin prison after being arrested near Tehran at Christmas. They were initially released but rearrested in early January.

(Sources: Assist News Service, Farsi Christian News Network, Middle East Concern, Operation World)

• Pray for the release of Rev Wilson Issavi and other Christians held arbitrarily.
• Pray for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his regime, amid rising concern over some of Iran's current domestic and international policy.

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