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Cleared of all charges: Maryam and Marzieh go free!
Since April 2009 CSW’s supporters have prayed for the two Iranian women detained and on trial for apostasy and propagating Christianity. As they were referred to progressively lower courts over 2009, and released pending further trial later in November, no-one could be sure of the outcome of their case - until now. After weeks of uncertainty, Maryam and Marzieh were acquitted.
Despite pressure and intimidation, they bravely told an Islamic judge that they would never deny their faith in Christ. In response to being told how their story was encouraging Christians all over the world, they responded, “We are frail human beings with many weaknesses. The honour and glory go to God who has kept and used us, although we don’t know why He has chosen us. All the glory goes to Him.”
After spending weeks in solitary confinement and in the unhealthy conditions of the notorious Evin prison, both Maryam and Marzieh became seriously ill and didn’t receive the treatment they needed, which greatly increased their suffering. After their conditional release from prison in November 2009, they have spent six months waiting for their case to be heard in an Islamic court where they could have received a further prison sentence. However, after their acquittal they were warned that any future Christian activity on their part would be severely dealt with, and have fled the country so that they can continue to practise their faith in peace.
Marzieh summarised their time over the last year, “we have seen the Lord do miracles over and over again. He kept us and gave us favour in prison, and sustained us during a very difficult period of waiting for our final trial.”
Thank you to all of you who prayed and kept them in your hearts over the last year.
Background
May 2010
Maryam and Marzieh are cleared of all charges.
April 2010
Five months after their release a general court trial date is announced.
November 2009
Maryam and Marzieh are released.
October 2009
Maryam and Marzieh are taken before the Revolutionary Court to face three charges. The anti-state charges against them are dropped, and their case is transferred to a general court which will consider the other two charges - propogation of Christianity and apostasy. They are returned to Evin Prison to await a court date.
July 2009
Iran’s Parliamentary Committee recommends that the cause relating to the death penalty for apostasy be dropped from the Islamic Penal Code Bill, following intense international pressure. However, the Bill has yet to be finalised by the Iranian Parliament.
June 2009
Iranian elections lead to social and political unrest. The Iranian Government and Ayatollah Khomeini blame foreign elements in the mass demonstrations. In the past, this linking of national unrest with international interference has been associated with increased targeting of non-Muslim religious minorities, deemed by the regime to be sympathisers with a Western agenda.
25 May 2009
The EU publishes a Declaration expressing deep concern about religious persecution in Iran, in particular the persecution of Christians. CSW is encouraged by this development, which is further proof that lobbying at government and EU level, along with prayer, really makes a difference. The EU ‘Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the violation of religious freedom in Iran’ also reiterates the EU’s concerns for other religious minorities in Iran and for those being imprisoned on grounds of their faith.
19 March 2009
Maryam and Marzieh appear in court and are sent to Evin Prison, even though they have not been charged with any crime. CSW believes that they have been detained because of their conversion from Islam to Christianity.
5 March 2009
Two Iranian Christian women, Maryam Rostampour (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad (30), have their apartments searched by Iranian security officers.
Their Bibles are confiscated along with many other items, and the women are arrested, interrogated, taken to a detention centre and subjected to sleep deprivation. |
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Please pray...
- For Maryam and Marzieh’s full physical and emotional recovery.
- That they will adjust quickly to living in a new country.
- That religious freedom would soon prevail in Iran.
- For God’s intervention in the 40 cases of Iranian Christian detentions between January and April this year.
- For the Lord to comfort and strengthen those in solitary confinement in Iran’s prisons.
- That those imprisoned in Iran for their faith would find hope in their suffering.
Why not add a prayer to our Prayer Wall to show your solidarity with Christians in Iran?
>>> Visit the prayer wall
The current situation in Iran; including Maryam and Marzieh's case is featured in the 2009 International Day of Prayer (IDOP) pack.
>>> Download 2009 IDOP pack |
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