Iran Human RightsMinister Who Converted From Islam Risks Death Penalty in...

Minister Who Converted From Islam Risks Death Penalty in Iran

-

Asia News: Hamid Pourmand is a Protestant minister of the Assemblies of God Church. He converted from Islam several years ago. Since September he has been held in prison at an undisclosed location and under Iranian law he can be put to death for “apostasy against Islam”. He was arrested on September 9 in Karaj, a town 30 km west of the capital Tehran during a police raid against the annual General Council of the Assemblies of God Church. Asia News

Tehran – Hamid Pourmand is a Protestant minister of the Assemblies of God Church. He converted from Islam several years ago. Since September he has been held in prison at an undisclosed location and under Iranian law he can be put to death for “apostasy against Islam”. He was arrested on September 9 in Karaj, a town 30 km west of the capital Tehran during a police raid against the annual General Council of the Assemblies of God Church.

Reverend Pourmand is 47-year-old, married with two children, and a colonel in the Iranian army based in the city of Bandar-i Bushehr (380 km south of Tehran). If brought before a court martial he could face espionage charges and sentenced to death. Although laws instituted after the Islamic revolution prohibit non-Muslims from holding officer rank, he continued to serve as an officer in the Iranian army. “Hamid did not keep his conversion secret,” a friend told Compass, “but he is an honest man and people liked and respected him.”

Pourmand was arrested along with another 86 Protestant leaders; 76 were released the evening of their arrest whilst another 9 were let go three days later. But Pourmand was the only one who is still in prison. According to eyewitnesses, Iranian police had detailed information about each one of them.

Since his arrest, Pourmand has been able to talk briefly to is wife (an Assyrian Christian) by phone and tell her that he was alright. At the time of his arrest, she and their children were in Tehran visiting relatives. Upon her return home, she found that their home had been searched and family documents and photos taken.

The September raid against the council of the Assemblies of God comes in the wake of several arrests of Christians in northern Iran in May and June.

In July 1994, Mehdi Dibaj, another minister of the Assemblies of God Church who was also a convert from Islam, was killed after spending nine years in prison for refusing to abjure his Christian faith and return to Islam.

Under Iranian law, capital punishment is reserved for apostasy, murder, armed robbery, rape and drug trafficking.

Some months ago Shiite cleric Hasan Mohammadi from the Ministry of Education said in a speech to Tehran high school students that “on average every day, 50 young Iranians convert secretly to Christian denominations”.

There are about 360,000 Christians in Iran out of a population of 65 million. Of these, 25,000 are Catholics.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Iran says it made nuclear fuel pellets

AP: The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said...

Many Sunnis see Iran behind Iraq shrine blast

Iran Focus: London, Feb. 24 – The London-based Arabic-language...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you