Continued Pressure and Intimidation Exerted on the families of the detained Christians in Mashhad!

9/13/2010 Iran (FCNN) – The revolutionary court in Mashhad has continually threatened the families of the detained Christians with various threats and has warned them that if the detainees do not revert back to Islam, they will be charged with apostasy!

Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN) reports that 3 Iranian Christians, residents of the city of Mashhad, by the names of Reza (AKA Stephen), his wife Maria, and Ehsan Behrooz, who were charged with apostasy, continue to remain in detention since July 8, 2010. The 901st district court of Mashhad on Sunday August 29, 2010, informed the families of these 3 Christian detainees to be present at the court proceedings.

In the first of such meetings at the court, according to sources close to this case, the court officials and the security agents of the government have informed the families of the detainees that after more than 50 days of effort to re-convert these individuals back to Islam (through torture and solitary confinement), they have been unwilling to change their beliefs and renounce their Christian faith.

The same officials have demanded that the families of the detainees, during a court-approved visitation time with the detainees, must persuade their loved ones to renounce their Christian faith and embrace Islam once again. They have demanded that the families remind the detainees of the severe consequences that will await the detainees if they stubbornly insist on maintaining their faith in Jesus Christ.

The judiciary officials have also threatened the families of these detainees that if their loved ones refuse to cooperate with the government, charges of apostasy will be upheld and they will be tried on these charges in the upcoming court session.

The real implication of such a charge (apostasy) in Iran is death of hanging. This is based on the criminal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which in adopting the strict Islamic laws, prescribes the punishment of execution for those men whose guilt as an apostate have been proved by the Islamic court.

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It is noteworthy to mention that on July 28, 2010, Maria along with her husband Stephen and their friend Ehsan and a group of Christian believers from Mashhad, while travelling from the city of Mashhad to Bojnoord, to attend a Christian fellowship, were ambushed and arrested, through a previously pre-planned and coordinated operation of the agents of the Ministry of Information, and were taken into custody. Reports indicate that the arrested were between 11-15 people who were kept in custody and after one week and the posting of bail and/ or written promises to the government were released. Maria, Stephen, and Behrooz who refused to sign any written promissory note indicating that they would refrain from any Christian activities and would renounce their faith still remain in custody.

There are no clear information as to the condition of Reza (Stephen) and his Maria, but the family of Ehsan Behrooz were able to meet with him briefly on July 28, 2010. During this brief visit, the government prosecutor “Haji Agha Zahedi” had told Ehsan’s mother that since Ehsan’s name carries the Islamic titles of “Seyed”, this would mean an automatic charge of apostasy if her son would not renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. This has caused greater worry for the family of Ehsan Behrooz.

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