Five Iranian house church Christians were behind bars Wednesday, March 15, after being sentenced to one year imprisonment on charges of "crimes against the Islamic order" and there were reports that Iranian authorities have been burning Bibles.
Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi Furutan, Mohammad Beliad, Parviz Khalaj and Nazly Beliad, who are members of the Church of Iran house church movement, were found guilty by the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, according to trial observers. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), an advocacy group closely monitoring the case, said the have 20 days to appeal the sentence.
The five men were detained last June, but released in February after posting high bail payments. They had spent nearly eight months in prison in Shiraz on charges of apostasy, political meetings, blasphemy and crimes against the Islamic Order, accusations rights activists have linked to their Christian activities. [BosNewsLife] Read more
