It is with great sadness that we report the death from a heart attack of Ebrahim Firouzi, an Iranian convert to Christianity, who has featured on our prisoner profiles for several years.
Ebrahim was arrested several times over the years for his Christian activities. The first was back in January 2011, when he was held in custody for 154 days before being released conditionally. He was arrested again in March 2013. While on a short leave from prison he was arrested again, in a meeting at a friend’s office. This time he was accused of spying.
In October 2019 Ebrahim was released from prison but was sent into exile for two years, in the remote province of Sistan and Baluchestan. The following March his period of exile was extended by a further 11 months.
In February 2021 he was summoned again to answer charges of ‘insulting the sacred’ (blasphemy) and ‘propaganda against the Islamic Republic in favour of hostile groups’. He was released on bail.
Sources say his brother discovered his dead body when he went to visit him at his flat in March 2024. He was 37.
Back in 2016, while in prison in Karaj, Ebrahim appealed for prayer for Christians and churches in his country. He wrote: ‘Jesus is our example: The Saviour who came among us to be crucified and save us. We sometimes have to sacrifice our freedom to live in God’s love, so I can’t think only about myself when there are so many believers suffering persecution. My freedom and getting out of prison cannot be my only response. We think especially about the suffering of new believers. If my being in prison stirs the international community to work to prevent such future persecution of new believers, then my choice is to remain in prison.
‘I ask you to pray for the reopening of the churches in Iran that the government has forcibly closed – let the sound of worship and praise be heard in the buildings again!’
Do pray for Ebrahim’s family and friends as they mourn his loss.
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Updated: March 2024