05/11/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – She was dying of cancer, her eyesight was fading, and her heart was broken. Kobra had not seen her son for over a year; the Iranian prison system had stolen him from her.
For months, Kobra petitioned the Iranian government to allow her son to visit her before she died. Her request was denied time and time again. When she passed away this past Christmas, her son was notably absent from her funeral.
Iran’s criminal justice system is anything but an administrator of justice. It is a meat grinder, gutting Christians for worshiping God. Iran’s prison system, notorious for its physical and psychological abuses, takes them in, chews them up, and spits them out. Sometimes, they’re left inside to rot.
Ibrahim was convicted of “launching and administering a Christian missionary website, distributing Bibles, cooperating with student activists, and involvement in actions against national security.” He was issued a bail of $20,000 USD, in a country where people can barely afford eggs. Once arrested, Ibrahim was sent to Evin Prison, often referred to as the “terror factory,” and eventually Rajae Shahr Prison.
Iran does not simply imprison Christians on trumped-up charges. It employs Satan’s greatest weapon against Christians: isolation. In Kobra’s case, it targeted the entire family, cutting off its members from each other. Kobra’s son, Ibrahim Firouzi, was arrested in 2013, essentially for converting from Islam to Christianity. His story shows how far authorities are willing to go to dismantle relationships between Christians.
These stories repeat themselves with alarming frequency among Iran’s imprisoned Christians. Sometimes, the stories have an additional detail in common: the name of the judge who sentenced them for no other reason than their faith in Christ. In Ibrahim’s case, it was Judge Moghiseh. In others, it is Judge Ahmadzadeh. In others still, it is Judge Zargar.
These Iranian judges have moved through the ranks by persecuting Christians. Their actions, however, have not gone unnoticed.
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