Christian convert arrested in Anzali, family in distress
A Christian convert in Iran was arrested after a dozen plain-cloths security officers from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) raided his house, confiscating several Bibles.
Rahmat Rostamipour, 49, was driven away in a convoy of four cars at 8am on Monday, April 18 from his home in Anzali, a city to the north of Iran.
As well as confiscating the Bibles, authorities also took possession of the family’s phones, ID cards, a number of books and a couple of tablets used by the couple’s children for school, before taking Rahmat into custody.
The authorities had also intended to arrest Rahmat’s wife, Azar but refrained from detaining her because the raid had brought on a panic attack in the couple’s teenage daughter.
However, she was summoned to the MOIS Office in Anzali, the following day, April 19 and returned home after hours of interrogation.
The couple have not been formally charged, but during Azar’s questioning she was informally accused of ‘propaganda against the regime through involvement in house church activities’.
Iranian authorities consider house-church gatherings outside their sphere of control as ‘illegal’.
The couple’s 13-year-old teenage son was also present during the raid.
Iran is number nine on Open Doors’ World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.