Nine Christians were arrested in Iran when they were attending the Christmas Day service in the city of Shiraz in southern Iran, according to National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Iranian intelligence officers dressed in plain clothes raided the house church and confiscated satellite dishes and several personal belongings of the members before taking them away.
The detained members of the church have been identified as: Ahmad Golshani-Nia, Moussa Sari-Pour, Mohammad-Reza Soltanian, Mohsen Javadi, Mahmoud Salehi, Elaheh Izadi, Alireza Ali-Qanbari, Reza Mohammadi, and another person whose name has not been disclosed yet.
Shahin Gobad of NCRI expressed his concern over the persecution of Christians in Iran since 2013: "There has been a steady deterioration of human rights abuses in Iran during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as president including executions and suppression of religious and ethnic minorities. This is just another case in point. Actually the clerical regime is one of the top violators of rights of religious minorities including Christians in the world. The regime has institutionalized repression of the Iranian people as the main tool of its survival."
Just two days before the group arrest, Maysam Hojjati, a Christian convert from Islam, was beaten and dragged off into the snow from his home in Isfahan, south of Tehran. His Bible, cell phones, computers, and other personal items were confiscated. A week after he was arrested, his family is still waiting for news about Hojjati from the officials.
American Pastor and former Iranian citizen Saeed Abedini is among several other pastors imprisoned in Iran. Abedini was jailed three years ago, when he was in Iran, supervising an orphanage.
"We remain deeply concerned at the treatment of Christians in Iran, who suffer harassment, mistreatment and imprisonment simply for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief by gathering to worship peacefully, particularly during the Christmas season," said Andy Dipper of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
Last week, an Assembly of God church pastor Farshid Fathi Malayeri was released after being held in prison for the last five years. He was taken in custody in 2010 on allegations of plotting against "national security, cooperating with foreign organizations and evangelism."
Maryam Rajavi, the new president of NCRI expressed hope for the new year, such that it could be a year of "unity and victory over Islamic extremism and especially the religious fascism ruling Iran and its evil allies in the Middle East who sow the seeds of enmity in the world."
"Muslims and Christians can rely on their common values to stand up to those who pervert their religions. Let us hope for the relief of converted Christians in Iran from the oppression of ruling mullahs and for freedom of the whole Iranian nation from this religious dictatorship," she said.
