ARAM Iran / X
CV NEWS FEED // A woman who converted to Christianity was arrested in Iran after 20 undercover Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) agents raided a private gathering of 80 Christians.
According to AsiaNews, the agents arrested Somayeh Rajabi Feb. 6, but she has not been pressed with any official charges. She is still in prison.
During the raid in the province of Mazandaran, the agents conducted body searches, tore off religious necklaces, and struck several people, according to the report. The officers also prevented medical personnel from assisting the injured. They confiscated Bibles, musical instruments, and phones, and they demanded passwords to personal data on their mobile phones.
Rajabi was allowed to call her family Feb. 7, letting them know that she had been transferred to a prison in Sari, the provincial capital of Mazandaran.
AsiaNews reports that Iranian authorities often raid the homes and private gatherings of Christians. A former prisoner of conscience, Amin Afshar-Naderi, was arrested when he was at a picnic with other Christians in a private garden.
During Afshar-Naderi’s trial, authorities stated that his possession of a Christian songbook indicated illegal Christian activities.
Afshar-Naderi stated that the book was used to accuse him of his role as a house church leader.
“In reports about me, even music was described as a tool to deceive others,” he stated, “despite the fact that it is universally recognised in Christian worship as a means to glorify God.”
