RLPB 641. Iran: Believers Jailed as Darkness Looms

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 641 | Wed 20 Apr 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.
View archives at: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB).  

IRAN: BELIEVERS JAILED AS DARKNESS LOOMS
- draconian internet bill in parliament where it is expected to pass
by Elizabeth Kendal

The only churches permitted in Iran are 'ethnic' - i.e. Armenian and Assyrian - churches. Whilst these churches may minister to Armenians and Assyrians, they are not permitted to minister in the Persian language (Farsi) or have Persians in their congregations. This is because the regime maintains that Persians are Muslims and apostasy is not permitted. According to Javaid Rehman, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, 'Between 1 January and 1 December 2021, at least 53 Christians were arrested for the practice of their religious beliefs' [A/HRC/49/75 (13 Jan 2022)].

(left) Sakineh (Mehri) Behiati; (right) Fariba Dalir

On Saturday 16 April two Christian women - both Persian converts and house church leaders - commenced serving their two-year prison terms. Sentenced in August 2020, Sakineh (Mehri) Behjati has been jailed in Lakan Prison in Rasht, while Fariba Dalir (51) has been jailed in Tehran's Evin Prison. Both women are charged with acting against national security by establishing and leading an evangelical Christian house church. Arrested on 19 July 2021 with five other converts (including her fiance), Fariba spent 38 days in solitary confinement before being transferred to the notorious Shahr-e Rey (Qarchak) prison. A 17-y-old girl detained with the group spent ten days in solitary confinement undergoing intense interrogation before being released without charge while the other four believers were released on bail in October. Fariba was released on bail on 18 November, after which she and her fiance Soroush married. On 4 December Tehran's Revolutionary Court sentenced Fariba to two-years jail, while her husband Soroush and the three other converts were sentenced to ten months' prison for membership of the house church but released upon payment of a fine. The court initially sentenced Fariba to five year's jail after wrongly stating that she had a previous criminal record. While the court did revise the sentence down after being informed of the error, it gives us a glimpse of what will happen the next time Fariba, Soroush or any of the others (except the 17-y-old girl) are arrested.

Ahmed, Morteza and Ayoub (Article 18)

On Saturday 9 April a Revolutionary Court in Rasht sentenced three Christian men - all Persian converts - to five years' jail. Arrested on 5 September 2021, Ahmad Sarparast (25), Morteza Hajeb Mashoud Kari (38), and Ayoub Pourrezazadeh (28) spent time in solitary confinement before being released on bail. The men were charged on 25 January with 'engaging in propaganda and education of deviant beliefs contrary to the holy Sharia' and 'connections with foreign leaders', under the amended Article 500 of Iran's penal code. Echoing the Christians, their lawyer Iman Soleimani insists they have engaged in neither propaganda nor teaching, but only met together for Christian prayer and worship. Article18's advocacy director, Mansour Borji, maintains the men were only convicted because they remained 'persistent in their beliefs'. According to Soleimani, judges are under immense pressure from the regime to punish Christians harshly. Insisting they have committed no crime, the believers will appeal their sentences.

INTERNET BILL: A bill currently making its way through the Iranian parliament - where it is virtually certain to pass - threatens to send the country dark. The 'Regulatory System for Cyberspace Services Bill' - formerly known as the 'User Protection Bill' - would place Iran's Internet infrastructure and Internet gateways under the control of the country's security agencies (MOIS) armed forces (IRGC). Work is already underway on a National Information Network (NIN), a closed national intranet that can keep running when access to the global internet is shut down. Furthermore, the bill would introduce criminal measures against those who produce, sell or distribute Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), punishing them with up to two years in prison. This will make it virtually impossible for Christians to communicate on matters of faith, or get Christian materials into Iran (such as much-needed theological training courses) and information on persecution out of Iran. Though the parliament is split on the issue, the hardliners are the majority. Whether they can make it work is another matter entirely. This may yet prove to be another case of Islamic overreach triggering the opposite effect of that intended.


PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR SOVEREIGN GOD WILL

* generously grace his Iranian Church with wisdom, discernment, insight and patience divinely custom-built for the trials that lie ahead; may ways be found to keep critically important and necessary communication and information flowing (even if not via the internet); may the Holy Spirit - the 'Counsellor', 'Helper' and 'Spirit of Truth' (John 14:15-31and 16:5-16), who cannot be contained or controlled - continue to move powerfully through Iran.

* comfort, encourage, sustain and protect Sakineh (Mehri) Behjati and Fariba Dalir as they serve their prison terms; may the ever-present Holy Spirit - who is not deterred by prison walls, hostile situations, or regime rules - comfort, encourage, sustain and protect all Iranian Christians cruelly treated and incarcerated for their faith; and may the Lord comfort, encourage, sustain and protect their loved ones.

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3 ESV).

* work a miracle of amazing grace in the heart of Iranian human rights lawyer Iman Soleimani, as he represents and advocates for persecuted Christians; may he join that precious cohort of human rights lawyers who come to know and love Jesus and who are saved through the testimony of persecuted Christians as they are dragged through the courts and imprisoned for their faith (Matthew 10:16-20). Lord have mercy.


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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BELIEVERS JAILED AS DARKNESS LOOMS IN IRAN

On 16 April two Christian women - both Persian converts and house church leaders - commenced serving two-year prison terms. Sakineh (Mehri) Behjati and Fariba Dalir are charged with acting against national security by establishing and leading Christian house churches. On 9 April three Christian men - all Persian converts - were sentenced to five year's jail. Ahmad, Morteza and Ayoub are charged with engaging in propaganda and teaching deviant beliefs, even though the men had done nothing but attend a Christian house church for prayer and worship. They will appeal. Meanwhile a bill currently before parliament would put Iran's internet infrastructure and internet gateways under the control of the country's security agencies (MOIS) armed forces (IRGC), crippling the ability of Christians to communicate about faith, or get Christian resources in and persecution news out. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. 

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

She is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology and has formerly served with the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission and Christian Faith and Freedom (Canberra).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 640. India: Pastors on Death List in South Chhattisgarh

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 640 | Wed 06 Apr 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.
View archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB). 


INDIA: PASTORS ON DEATH LIST IN SOUTH CHHATTISGARH
by Elizabeth Kendal

In January a public notice written in the Hindi language appeared in Chhattisgarh's south-western Bijapur District. Posted on the main road of Angampalli village, the notice directed locals to 'Worship the tribal gods and goddesses; Oppose Christian Religion'. It was signed by the 'National Park Area Committee, CPI (Maoist),' [CPI: Communist Party of India]. The notice listed 22 local Christian 'pastors' who the CPI (Maoists) demanded should 'leave pastorship of the Christian faith propagating enemy culture', warning that failure to comply would result in action being taken against them.

On the evening of 17 March, six masked men entered Angampalli village and descended on the home of Pastor Yalam Shankar (58; also known as Pastor Timothy). Pastor Shankar went outside to see what they wanted, followed by his daughter-in-law who witnessed everything that followed. She told Morning Star News (MSN): 'As soon as my father-in-law stepped out of the house, they tied his hands at the back. Then they hit his face and forced him to kneel. After he did, they slit the back of his neck with a knife. They shot two bullets into his chest and stabbed him in his chest with a knife.' She added that when one of the masked men then pointed his gun at her head, 'My heartbeat suddenly increased, and my head began to spin, and I fainted out of fear.' A former village sarpanch (village head), Pastor Yalam Shankar was a well-known and influential person. A natural leader, he had repeatedly defended Christians from radical Hindu nationalists. Pastor Shankar was the Senior Pastor of the BCM (Bastar for Christ Missionary Movement) church in Angampalli village. The BCM Movement started in Chhattisgarh's conflict-ridden south-eastern Bastar district, but now sends missionaries all over the state. Pastor Shankar's name was second on the list of 22 'pastors' warned to stop propagating Christianity.

The killers left a Hindi-language note on Pastor Shankar's body which read: 'The police informer of Angampalli village Yalam Shankar is killed at the hands of our PLGA.' [PLGA: People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, the armed wing of the banned CPI (Maoist).] The killing has all the traits of a professional military-style execution, indicating it was indeed the work of Maoist insurgents (also known as Naxalites) and not Hindu nationalist thugs. However, the claimed pretext - that the pastor was a police informant - is not credible. The local police chief denied that Shankar was ever an informer. Local Christians also deny it.

Pastor Narendra Kumar introduces Pastor Shankar's family and explains what happened.
from left: daughter-in-law (eyewitness), wife, younger son, elder son.
British Asian Christian Association (BACA) 19 March 2022

Pastor Vasim Shankar is anxious that he could be targeted next. His name appeared not only among the 22 'pastors' on the public notice, but also on the note left on Pastor Yalam Shankar's body wherein Vasim is also accused of being a police informer. 'I am not a police informer,' he told MSN. 'I have not met or been associated with either the police or the Maoists. Neither was Pastor Yalam Shankar an informer. These are false allegations to frame us and kill us.' Santosh Yalam's name is also on the list of 22 'pastors', even though he is not a pastor. He lives in Tamlapalli village, around 1km from Angampalli, and told MSN that area Christians had faced increased opposition from local Gond tribals since November, when the villagers commenced a boycott of the Christians to protest conversions. 'There were many incidents of violence,' he said, 'wherein the Christians were beaten, and their property destroyed while they were threatened and told to "return" [to traditional Gond animism].'

(l) India in 1525, showing Gondwana;
(r) Naxalite insurgency 2018;
highlighted area = south Chhattisgarh

With a population of more than 12 million, the Gond community comprises the largest tribal group in India. The Gond - whose language is Dravidian (from south India) - are spread throughout Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, a region which for centuries was known as the Kingdom of Gondwana.

Downtrodden and exploited under the racist Hindu caste system, many Gond have been drawn into the anti-Hindu Maoist/Naxalite insurgency that has plagued the 'Red Corridor' of north-east India for decades. While tribal Christians oppose all forms of violence, they have long been allies of the tribal animists in the struggle against the racist Hindu caste system and Hindu-Aryan domination and exploitation.

To the Hindu nationalist BJP, the Gond are nothing but a massive vote bank which must be won. To capture the Gond vote, the BJP incites hatred, portraying Christians as an existential threat to Gond families and Gond culture, while promoting the anti-conversion BJP as the solution. [See RLPB 506, Christian Crisis in North India, 12 June 2019; and RLPB 612, Divide and Rule in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, 25 Aug 2021.] Having turned India's tribal belt into a tinderbox of anti-Christian suspicion and hatred, the BJP is now igniting fires amongst the Gond, who in turn are using their Maoist/Naxalite contacts to eliminate Christian 'pastors' suspected of 'propagating Christianity'. The situation is extremely serious.

As for Chhattisgarh's Bijapur District, there are still 21 'pastors' on that list; their lives are in imminent peril.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL

* sustain and provide for Pastor Yalam Shankar's family; may they be assured of the eternal presence of the God of all comfort (2 Cor 1:3-5).

* intervene in Bijapur District - indeed, in all of Chhattisgarh and the north India tribal belt - to ensure that pastors and evangelists are afforded protection, criminals are brought to justice, and Hindu nationalist lies - in particular the lie that Christians (rather than the BJP) are the enemy - are exposed as political machinations aimed at dividing and conquering the the people so as to enable further exploitation of the tribals and their lands.

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers (Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV).

* send his angels to guide and protect the 21 remaining 'pastors' named on that list; may not one be lost, for India needs her missionaries. Lord have mercy.

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock ... Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence (Psalm 27:5,12 ESV).

Sunday 27 March in Bagiya. (source)

We also pray for Pastor Christopher Tirki and Jyoti Prakash Toppo who were arrested and jailed in north-east Chhattisgarh on Sunday 27 March, charged with 'attempting religious conversions.' May the Lord sustain and deliver them.

Pastor Tirki was leading worship for 25 Christian families, comprising 65 believers of the Kanwar tribe in Bagiya village, Jashpur district, in Chhattisgarh's far north-east, when a mob of Hindu nationalists stormed the service and began assaulting and abusing the congregation. Agents of the Hindu nationalist VHP reported the situation, leading the police to arrest and jail Tirki and Toppo on the charge of attempting to procure illegal religious conversions. Pastor Tirki denies the charge, insisting anyone who converts does so of their own free will. 'Our work,' he said, 'is to impart the Bible's teachings.' Please pray.


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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INDIA: PASTORS ON DEATH LIST IN SOUTH CHHATTISGARH

In January a public notice appeared in Chhattisgarh's south-western Bijapur District demanding locals worship tribal gods and resist Christianity. The notice included a list of 22 'pastors' who it warned should stop pastoring and propagating Christianity or action would be taken against them. On 17 March Maoist/Naxalite militants executed Pastor Yalam Shankar (58). A senior pastor and former village chief, Pastor Shankar's name was second on the list. The region is predominantly populated by the animistic Gond tribe, the largest tribe in India. To win the Gond vote, the Hindu nationalist BJP presents Christianity as an existential threat and the anti-conversion BJP as the solution. It is possible the Gond are using their Maoist/Naxalite contacts to eliminate Christian 'pastors' suspected of 'propagating Christianity'. There are still 21 pastors on that list. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com