ICC Note: An Iranian Pastor who had been held since December 2013 has been released from prison. Pastor Rasoul was arrested originally in 2010 and the was free on bail until December 2013 before being released last week. He was a leader among house churches in Iran, which regularly imprisons Christians who meet together to worship in Persian.
02/20/2015 Iran (Christian Today) An Iranian Christian pastor imprisoned for his faith since December 2013 has been released.
Pastor Rasoul Abdollahi was first arrested on 26 December 2010, as part of a widespread crackdown on Christian activity. He was detained and interrogated for more than two months before being released on bail.
He was then tried in court and imprisoned on 2 December 2013. But he has now been pardoned and released this week, and will be able to return to his wife and children.
Abdollahi is a leader in Iran’s house church movement, and was arrested on the same day as a number of other Christians, most of whom have since been released. However, Pastor Farshid Fathi, who was also arrested that day, remains in prison and has had his prison term extended.
A source, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, told Christian Today that Iran’s judiciary seems to be encouraging Christians that are arrested to leave the country before standing trial.
“Our feeling is that at the moment they are pressuring Christians to leave rather than bothering with the hassle of imprisoning them for long periods,” the source said.
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