Covid-19 and the persecuted church
As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads around the globe, some of the countries from which Church in Chains reports regularly have been very badly hit.
As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads around the globe, some of the countries from which Church in Chains reports regularly have been very badly hit.
Ebrahim Firouzi has had his sentence of two years’ internal exile extended by eleven months because he took brief leave of absence to sort out family affairs.
Mahrokh Kanbari has been given temporary release as part of the authorities’ efforts to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Iran’s overcrowded prisons.
Christian activist Mary Mohammadi was released on bail on 26 February but her court hearing, scheduled for 2 March, has been postponed.
Mary Mohammadi has been badly beaten and strip searched in detention and is now in the notorious Qarchak women’s prison.
Christian rights activist Fatemeh Mohammadi was arrested on 12 January in Tehran and taken to an unknown location.
Christian convert Mahrokh Kanbari (65) has been summoned to prison to begin serving a one-year sentence for “propaganda against the system”.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is very concerned about the future of his sons, as the state refuses to recognise them as Christians.
A 100-year-old Assyrian church in the northwestern city of Tabriz was closed down and had its cross forcibly removed by government officers.