IRAN: CHRISTIAN COUPLE FLEES

After spending eight months in prison with no formal charges, two Iranian Christians fled Iran upon receiving threats from the Ministry of State Security. They now await resettlement in another country by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Arash Kermajani, 29, and his 26-year-old wife, Arezoo Teymouri, were detained while visiting Pastor Vahik Abrahamian and Sonia Keshish Avanesian in Hamedan in September 2010. The secret police burst in while the four Christians were watching a film. The couple was eventually transferred to a secret prison and separated, spending part of their time in solitary confinement.

At one point during her imprisonment, Teymouri’s blood pressure fell dangerously low as a result of shock from the arrest and a subsequent hunger strike, according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN). She was taken to the city’s main hospital and was warned not to speak to anyone. As soon as her health was restored, she was returned to the secret prison.

“They did not inflict any physical torture on my body, but [they] did not for a second stop their psychological tortures. They ridiculed and debased me at every opportunity. Whenever I spoke of my Christian beliefs, they imitated, ridiculed and laughed at me,” Teymouri told FCNN. “Their attacks did not have any effect on my resolve to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and to reconcile myself to the fact that he will protect his flock.”

Agents from the Islamic Regime pressured both Kermajani and Teymouri to confess to acting against the government. Kermajani told FCNN, “My Christian beliefs were questioned, and it was denigrated to the level of childish thoughts and a passing trend.”

“While in prison we actually heard that we have been accused of being ‘ideological thieves and members of a Zionist group opposing the Islamic Regime,’ said Kermajani. “After eight months, I guess they realized they were wrong about us and caught on the fact that we are but simple witnesses to Christ.”

Without any prior notice, the couple was simply told to get out. They walked from the prison to a main road and hired a car. During the drive, three men on motorcycles suddenly surrounded the car and rode along side it, screaming obscenities and throwing bricks. “All the way to Tehran, we feared for our lives,” Kermajani said.

Fearing more attacks, Kermajani and Teymouri went into hiding. “All venues of work and employment were closed to us and we were constantly under surveillance, so we decided to leave the country for our own safety and seek refuge elsewhere,” Kermajani told FCNN.

The couple is now in a neighboring country waiting to be relocated by the UNHCR. According to FCNN, they did not want to leave Iran. They intend to serve the Lord wherever they are sent.

Source: Farsi Christian News Network