 A Christian woman held without charge in Iran since September 9 wept uncontrollably during the five minutes her mother was allowed to visit her last Monday, a relative said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested Mojdeh Falahi, aged 36, a convert from Islam, when she went to the prosecutor’s office in Shiraz at the request of a Christian who had been arrested the previous day and told her he needed documents in order to be released, Morning Star News (MSN) reported.
Please pray for Mojdeh, who has been transferred to the Pelak-e 100 Detention Centre, a prison run by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, according to Sam Khosravi, Falahi’s brother-in-law.
During the visit on Monday, the second by her mother, Mojdeh wept inconsolably, and her family is worried about mistreatment by the authorities and the conditions of her confinement, said Khosravi.
‘Psychologically, she is in a very bad condition and only cries,’ Khosravi told MSN.
Though no charges have been filed against her, her family believes intelligence agents are intensely interrogating her for information about other Christians. Relatives are particularly worried because Mojdeh’s detention has lasted more than 10 days, unusual in investigations of most Christian women, Khosravi said.
‘Mojdeh’s mother goes to the court every day to pursue the case and asks the judge to release her,’ Khosravi said last Monday. ‘She went to the court today, and after a lot of begging, the judge allowed her to see Mojdeh.’
Relatives are also confused about her detention because Mojdeh, who works as a hairdresser, is not a leader in any church and would be less likely to have information about other Christians, Khosravi said. She has not been given access to a lawyer.
Before Monday, the family went to the prosecutor’s office several times to request a visit but were able to talk with Mojdeh only briefly by phone and see her in person once for three minutes. Iranian officials offered family members, including her mother, more visitation time if they would encourage her to give them more information, Khosravi said, but the family refused.
Relatives have been unable to determine the exact conditions of Mojdeh’s detention because she is unable to speak openly during their visits, Khosravi said.
‘We do not know what exactly has happened to her because she was being monitored,’ he said. ‘We worry and wonder why they have kept her for such a long time.’
Relatives most fear that Iranian authorities are brutalising Mojdeh in a way that could leave her psychologically scarred for life, Khosravi said. He is familiar with Iranian government treatment of imprisoned converts as he has been jailed for his faith along with his wife and sister-in-law, Falahi’s older siblings.
Khosravi said the main goal of detention is not always punishment or even to gather information, but to break a prisoner at such a fundamental level that they are shattered permanently. The intent is to force them to renounce their faith or to spread fear among other converts from Islam.
‘It’s all about humiliation,’ said Khosravi, who is living in hiding to avoid the Iranian authorities. ‘There will be things in their mind and heart they will never get over.’
UPDATE
We are delighted to report that Iranian pastor Anooshavan Avedian has been acquitted of the charge against him and released from Evin prison, where he was serving a 10-year sentence.
The 62-year-old pastor was acquitted of the charge of ‘propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam’ on September 24 by the Appeal Court of Tehran.
Pastor Anooshavan, who had served one year of a 10-year sentence, was arrested during a raid by intelligence agents on a private Christian gathering in Narmak, north Tehran, in August 2020.
In speaking to friends after his release, Anooshavan was excited and glad, saying that he and his family were doing fine.
(Sources: Middle East Concern; Morning Star News)
PRAYER- Pray for the safety of Mojdeh and all the other Christians in prison in Iran and for their release
- Pray for Mojdeh’s mother especially who has been most affected by her daughter’s detention and is under severe pressure
- Thank God for the release of Anooshavan and pray that he is able to rest and adjust to life outside prison.
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