ICC Note: Pastor Benham Irani, an Iranian pastor who is already serving 6 years for his faith, now faces an additional 18 charges, including one that potentially carries with it a death penalty. The charge of “spreading corruption on Earth” has been brought against Pastor Irani for leading a church in Karaj, a city just outside Tehran. This is the latest development in a period of crackdowns on Iranian Christians by the regime that has included new raids on house churches and arrests of those suspected to have connections with other Christians.

By Lisa Daftari

09/05/2014 Iran (Fox News) – An Iranian Christian pastor already imprisoned for his faith now faces the death penalty after being hit with a bizarre new charge called “spreading corruption on Earth.”

Supporters fear the worst for Pastor Behnam Irani, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2011 for his Christian activities, including leading a 300-member evangelical congregation in Karaj, a city less than 15 miles outside the capital, Tehran. He is now being held in solitary confinement and suffering numerous health problems, including internal bleeding, according to advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas old the website BosNewsLife.com that his group is “deeply concerned by the new charges against Pastor Irani” especially the charge of spreading corruption on Earth.”

“The charges leveled against Pastor Irani and other Christians are tantamount to an indictment of Christianity itself and mark a renewed escalation in Iran’s campaign against Persian Christians under the Rouhani presidency,” Thomas said in a statement.

In recent months, Irani faced brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which threatened him with additional charges.

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, who ran for office as a moderate a year ago, has since presided over a brutal crackdown on Iran’s Christian community. Rouhani and the religious mullahs he answers to have been particularly concerned about the spread of Christianity and conversion into its Muslim population.…