Source: www.persecution.org
Date: April 20, 2020
Iran (International Christian Concern) – Although he deferred to the Judiciary as the main authority on the matter, Iranian President Rouhani announced on Sunday that the leave of prisoners to combat COVID would extend until May 20th. The Judiciary has not directly confirmed this statement, but a final decision is expected by April 29th. According to the previous directive, prisoners were only on leave until April 19th.
Three Christians have had their sentences canceled while on furlough. Some Christians remain on furlough, and it is not clear how the situation will impact their cases. However, most Christians were not eligible for furlough under COVID. This is because the government made a decision that only prisoners serving sentences less than 5 years would be eligible. Given that the average prison sentence for Christians is twice this amount, many remain incarcerated even while the pandemic spreads throughout the prison system.
Iran is one of the top persecutors of Christians in the world, often jailing them on vague national security charges. This stems from the belief that Christianity and other religious identities stand in contradiction to the strict interpretation of Islam which the government has used to uniquely define Iran. Nevertheless, the church in Iran has grown at a rapid pace, and is believed to be the largest Muslim Background church in the Middle East. The government’s harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islam is often credited for encouraging Iranians to explore Christianity as an alternative.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for any wrongfully imprisoned inmates to be released. Pray for an end to the spread of COVID-19 around the world. Pray for better conditions within Iran’s prison system.