Over 100 Christians were arrested in Iran in the first week of December and nearly 150 in the preceding month, as part of the government’s attempt to ‘warn’ Christians against sharing the gospel over the Christmas period.
This comes at the end of a year when dozens of Christians have been arrested, and some have been given strikingly long sentences.
Behnam and Davood
Two such Christian converts from Islam, planning to meet in a northern city of Iran, were detained on 16 November. Behnam Ersali and Davood Rasooli, both of Karaj, were arrested before they met in Mashhad, according to advocacy organisation Middle East Concern (MEC). It is believed that Iranian intelligence intercepted calls between them and learned of their plan to meet.
