Iranian persecution
Two Christian women, Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh, have stood in court in Tehran, Iran, charged with converting to Christianity.
The women, who are 27 and 30 respectively, were born into Muslim families, but became Christians. The accusations against them were that they converted to Christianity and refused to recant their beliefs.
They were arrested in March and held in solitary confinement until their August court appearance. According to court reports published in a press statement from Elam Ministries, the women made reference to their belief that God had convicted them [of the truth] through the Holy Spirit.
The deputy prosecutor, Mr Haddad, replied, ‘It is impossible for God to speak with humans’. Maryam said, ‘Are you questioning whether God is almighty?’ He then told her she was not worthy for God to speak with her; to which Maryam said it was God who determined her worthiness, not the lawyer for the prosecution.
Both women are back in prison with health problems. Their case is being taken up by Amnesty International.
