The
following excerpts are from AINA.org:
Iranian
security agents arrested an Assyrian pastor and two Christian
converts who were his guests at his Tehran residence on December 26,
2014, according to Mansour Borji, Spokesperson for the Alliance of
Iranian Churches.
Borji
told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the
full reasons for the arrest of Pastor Victor Beth Tarmez, a former
leader of the Tehran Pentecostal Assyrian Church, and his guests
remain unknown, but that at the time of the raid on his home, agents
stated that they were arresting the individuals because they
"participated in an illegal gathering." The "illegal
gathering" was a Christmas party Tarmez was holding at his home
and his guests were Zoroastrian, Muslim, and Christian citizens.
"There
was a Christmas party at Pastor Victor's home. He and his wife and
son and 14 guests were there. When agents entered the home, first
they searched all the personal belongings of the guests, then they
videotaped their faces, and then they searched the premises.
Eventually, they arrested Pastor Tarmez along with two Christian
converts and confiscated some property from the home," Borji
told the Campaign.
"During
a short phone call to his family on December 29, Pastor Victor
informed them that he is held at Evin Prison. We have no information
about the status of the two Christian converts arrested on the same
day. All we know is that they have not been released yet," added
Mansour Borji.
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more by clicking below:
Former Assyrian Church Leader and Two Christian Converts Arrested in Iran