Reprinted from Voice of the Martyrs:
Maryam and Marzieh – In danger of being forgotten in Iran
Two Iranian Christian women, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30), continue to be held in Evin prison in Iran because of their Christian faith, unfairly labelled as ‘anti-government activists’, because of the hostility of the government towards practising Christians.
In the aftermath of the political turmoil in Iran, they are now in danger of being forgotten. One church leader from Iran said, “With so many hundreds of protestors now in the prison system, Maryam and Marzieh are likely to be forgotten.”
Arrested on March 5 , 2009, the two young women have now been in prison for four months. After being in solitary confinement for three weeks in May and early June, they were then put one small cell together for about two weeks. Then, following the arrests of thousands of protestors after the disputed presidential elections, Marzieh and Maryam were moved to a larger cell to make room for new prisoners. About 600 women were brought Evin prison during the days of the protests. There is still no clarity regarding their case. In one court session in June a judge told them that he would make sure they were both executed as ‘apostates’. Maryam and Marzieh have responded with courage, however, telling the judge to “expedite his sentence.”
“Maryam and Marzieh have demonstrated great courage and trust in God. They believe the promise of Jesus that they will be given the words to speak when they are taken before judges,” says Sam Yeghnazar, founder of Elam Ministries.
Please continue to pray for Maryam and Marzieh as they suffer in prison in Iran. Pray they will continue to experience the strengthening presence of God and that they will be a witness of the love and grace of Christ in Evin prison. We invite you to post a prayer on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.Please also consider Maryam and Marzieh in prison at:
Evin Prison
Saadat Abad
Tehran
Islamic Republic of IranYes, you can write in English but if you wish to compose a letter in Farsi, our US sister mission has an online tool that can help you. Click here.
Please note
When writing a letter, never mention the name of the source of your information or the name of any organization such as Voice of the Martyrs or Prisoner Alert. It is not dangerous for a prisoner to receive letters from individuals, but if an organization is mentioned they may be accused of links with ‘foreign organizations’ and receive harsher sentences. Also, please do not state anything negative about their government.
Hat tip: Atlas Shrugs and Jihad Watch
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Excellent post. Putting out the names and faces of the scores of those unjustly held in Evin prison is a great service.
ReplyDeleteYukio, I can't get the fear, confusion, and sadness that these two young women must be experiencing out of my mind. And there are so many others unjustly imprisoned for "crimes" of free thought.
ReplyDeleteToo many people in this country have zero appreciation of the value of the freedoms Americans enjoy. It is only unyielding respect for and protection of our Constitutional rule of law that stands between our people and fates similar to that of Maryam and Marzieh.