pastor Behnam Irani

Latest update

Pastor Behnam Irani is free! He was released on 17 October 2016 after completing an unjust six-year sentence. Please continue to pray for Pastor Irani and his family as he adjusts to life outside prison: and especially for his health, which suffered during his ordeal.

Please pray:

• For Pastor Irani’s health to recover quickly and fully now that he’s free
  
• Thanking God for his release
  
• For safety for Pastor Irani and his family as they rebuild their lives 
  
• That God would touch the hearts of those in power in Iran and move them to free every prisoner of conscience in the country.
  

Why was Pastor Behnam Irani imprisoned?

Pastor Irani was imprisoned in 2011 for six years, charged with ‘action against the state’ and ‘action against the order’. These unjust charges were used by the 

authorities to cover up the fact that he was imprisoned because of his Christian faith – a tactic we regularly see in Iran.

Although a political prisoner, he was held with criminals in one of Iran’s most notorious prisons. He suffered frequent beatings at the hands of prison guards and fellow inmates, and regularly received death threats. His walking was impaired; he developed acute stomach ulcers and damaged vision, and experienced severe bleeding – so serious that he lost consciousness.

Despite this, the prison authorities denied him adequate medical treatment. Friends of Behnam said in 2012 that they feared he would not live to serve the whole of his sentence. 

Inspirational faith

Pastor Behnam is married to Kristina, an Armenian Christian. The couple have a daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Adriel. Pastor Behnam became a Christian in 1992 and has been a church leader since 2002.

His faith has been an inspiration. In 2012 he wrote a letter from prison, saying that although his cellmates thought about nothing but crime, making him wonder “Do they really deserve prayers?,” he immediately remembered that Jesus was sacrificed for their sins too. He ended his letter saying: “Don’t let the seas of unkindness intimidate you. You can be the ocean of love if Jesus dwells in you.”

Timeline

17 October 2016: Pastor Behnam Irani is released, having completed his sentence.

February 2015: A judge refuses him conditional release, even though prison authorities agree to this.

December 2014: Second appeal hearing along with two other Iranian pastors.

July 2014: Held in solitary confinement for weeks after being charged with communicating with the media

June 2014: Assaulted in prison and briefly transferred to a detention centre and interrogated. Four days later, he is returned to his original prison.

March 2014: CSW raises his case in our submission to the UN’s regular review of human rights in Iran.

February 2014: Successfully undergoes surgery to treat stomach and colon problems brought on by his time in prison.

September 2013: Family requests his release as a prisoner of conscience. Judge rules he will be released only if he returns to Islam.

October 2012: His condition becomes so serious that friends worry he could die in prison.

July 2012: Loses consciousness after bleeding severely due to stomach ulcers and colon complications. Health declines sharply as he is denied access to adequate medical treatment.

October 2011: He is told he will now serve the five-year suspended sentence he was given in 2006 for ‘action against national security’. The verdict against him describes him as an apostate (someone who has abandoned their religion), and states that apostates “can be killed”.

May 2011: Following a failed appeal, he is violently arrested and taken to Ghezal Hesar to serve his one-year sentence. Receives death threats from other inmates, and is beaten regularly. Held in a small cell, and repeatedly woken from sleep as a form of psychological torture. 

January 2011: Tried and convicted of ‘action against the state’. Sentenced to one year in prison.

April 2010: Assaulted and arrested while leading a house church service; later released on bail.

2008: Appeal rejected; suspended sentence upheld.

2007: Appeals against sentence.

December 2006: Arrested, charged with ‘action against national security’, given a five-year suspended sentence.