From Catholic World News
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| Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani |
Iran has intensified its repression of Protestant churches, as has become the custom at Christmas time.
On Christmas Day, Yousef Nadarkhani was again imprisoned, according to
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a British organization that monitors the
persecution of Christians.
Nadarkhani, a Protestant pastor and convert from Islam, was acquitted of
apostasy charges in September but found guilty of evangelizing Muslims,
for which he must now serve 45 additional days of prison time. His
original 2010 death sentence on apostasy charges was not carried out
following an international outcry.
On December 27, 50 Christians were detained after authorities disrupted a
Christmas gathering at a Tehran home. The 60-year-old pastor remains
imprisoned.
The incidents follow the arrest of Saeed Abedini, a Protestant pastor who holds dual US-Iranian citizenship.
98% of Iran’s 78.9 million people are Muslims; most other Iranians are
Jews, Christians, Baha’is, or Zoroastrians. 0.02% are Catholic.
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