The government of Iran has handed out harsh sentences for four Christians in that country. 

CBN News reports that Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and his wife Shamiram Issavi, who are ethnic Assyrian Christians, and Amin Afshar Naderi and Hadi Asgari, who are Christian converts from Islam, were sentenced to a combined total of 45 years in prison for allegedly conducting "illegal church activities" and spreading propaganda which reportedly "threaten national security."

Bet-Tamraz was first arrested in 2014 during a Christmas party at his home according to the report. Last year a court in Iran sentenced Bet-Tamraz and Asgari to 10 years in prison for "forming a group composed of more than two people with the purpose of disrupting national security" in relation to their church activities. The same court sentenced Amin Afshar Naderi to five years in prison for allegedly insulting Islam.

The four are currently on bail while they await a verdict from an appeals court.

Call to action

Amnesty International has responded to the sentence with an urgent call to action. Amnesty says "If imprisoned, they would be prisoners of conscience." They say that "Victor Bet-Tamraz, an ordained minister, and his family have been persecuted by the Iranian authorities for years, solely for practising their
Christian faith."

Amnesty says that Bet-Tamraz's trouble first began in March 2009, when the Pentecostal Assyrian Church in Tehran, which Victor Bet-Tamraz was leading, was forcibly shut down by the Ministry of Interior because it held Persian-speaking services.

Amnesty International explains that "Ethnic Christian churches like Assyrian (Chaldean) and Armenian churches are permitted to hold services in their own languages only and not in Persian. The church was later allowed to reopen but only after Victor BetTamraz was forcibly removed as the church leader by the authorities and replaced with someone else. Under the new leadership, the church services continued in Assyrian only."

What you can do:

Amnesty International is encouraging everyone to send written appeals before October 4, 2018.

You can send them to:

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadeghi Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, Dead end of 1 Azizi
Above Pasteur Intersection
Vali Asr Street, Tehran, Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

Prosecutor General of Tehran
Abbas Ja’fari Dolat Abadi
Office of the General and Revolutionary
Prosecutor
Corner (Nabsh-e) of 15 Khordad Square
Tehran, Iran
Salutation: Dear Sir

And copies to:
Deputy for Human Rights and
International Affairs, Ministry of Justice
Mahmoud Abbasi
Number 1638, Below Vali Asr Square
Vali Asr Avenue
Tehran, Iran

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.