Iran: House-church pastor begins 10-year prison sentence for “disturbing” Islam
An Iranian-Armenian pastor began a 10-year prison sentence in Iran yesterday, after being found guilty of engaging in “propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam” through his leading of a house church in Tehran, the Article 18 religious freedom NGO reports.
Iraq: Five men sentenced to life imprisonment for killing American Christian
A court in Baghdad, Iraq, sentenced four Iraqi militia members and one Iranian national to life imprisonment last week for the killing of American Christian Stephen Troell last year, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Iran Detains Scores Of Christians Ahead Of Anniversary
Iran has detained scores of Christians ahead of the first anniversary of the death in custody of a young Kurdish woman, Christians said as more details on the crackdown emerged Friday.
Iran Detains Dozens Of Christian Converts
More than 50 Christian converts have been detained over the past week in five Iranian cities, and Christians said the number could rise.
Iran: More than 50 Christians rounded up and detained on unknown charges
In a sudden spike of persecution against Christians in Iran, government authorities arrested and detained more than 50 Christians in five cities across Iran in the last 10 days, Article 18 reports.
Russia hopes to sign free trade agreement with Iran by end of year
In further evidence of warm ties between Russia and Iran, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk announced this week that Moscow hopes to sign a free trade zone agreement with Iran and several other Eurasion countries by the end of the year, i24News reports.