IRAN: PASTOR ACQUITTED, RELEASED FROM PRISON
On September 24, 2024, Pastor Anooshavan Avedian (62) was acquitted by Branch 21 of the Appeal Court of Tehran on the charge of “propaganda contrary to and disturbing the holy religion of Islam” and ordered to be released from prison immediately, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea. The ministry, which conducted an international campaign to send letters of encouragement to Pastor Avedian during his time in prison, is urging Christians to continue to pray for the pastor, and to send letters to other Christians still imprisoned for their faith.
“When he was released, Pastor Avedian told friends and family that he is excited and glad to be free, and that he and his wife and two children are doing fine,” said Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley.
Pastor Avedian spent 372 consecutive days behind bars. He was arrested by Iranian security agents at his home on Aug. 21, 2020, where he and some Christian friends had gathered for prayer and worship.
“The group was meeting in his home because Iranian officials had closed their church several years earlier,” said Representative Foley.
Government agents confiscated Bibles and cellphones before taking Pastor Avedian and two other Christians to Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for harsh treatment of Christian prisoners. The pastor’s two friends were released two days later, but Pastor Avedian was held for 26 days and harshly interrogated.
On April 11, 2022, an Iranian judge sentenced Pastor Avedian to 10 years in prison for engaging in “propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam.” Police ordered Pastor Avedian to appear at Evin prison on Sept. 18, 2023, to begin his 10-year prison sentence.
The pastor had appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court for a retrial, but the appeal was denied. Pastor Avedian is 62 years old and has a wife and two children.
Representative Foley says that while Pastor Avedian’s release is an answer to prayer, prayers are often needed more after a prisoner is released than during the imprisonment. “Former prisoners of faith often tell us that while they are in prison, the Lord feels very close to them, and then when they are released the feel overwhelmed by all the challenges of returning to normal life–especially when authorities are watching closely,” she says. “We should pray that the family will experience the Lord’s comfort and strong, safe presence, and that they will know how to serve him in the coming days.”
Iranian pastor Anooshavan Avedian (photo from Article 18)
According to Representative Foley, writing letters to Christians imprisoned for their faith is a ministry often neglected by Christians. “Most Christians don’t realize that it is often possible to write letters to Christians like Pastor Avedian, to encourage them while they are in prison,” says Representative Foley. “Christians assume that the letters would be blocked or would create further troubles for Christian prisoners, or they worry that they themselves will be tracked somehow for writing a letter. Sometimes they think that since they don’t speak the prisoner’s language, it is not possible to write. But our website maintains a list of prisoners in places where mail can be received, and where a simple letter of Christian encouragement will not create trouble for the prisoner or the letter writer. We provide the text in the prisoner’s language so that a letter can be easily cut and pasted. It’s easy, it only takes about 5 minutes and a small amount of money for the postage. Former prisoners frequently tell us how much letters from Christians around the world meant to them during their imprisonment.”
The ministry’s website currently lists the information and addresses for 11 Christians currently imprisoned for their faith, in countries including China, North Korea, and Eritrea. The list is accessible at https://vom-ru.org/prisoner-alert/ .