Two Iranian Women, Maryam & Marzieh Set Free In Iran!

Today is a day of great joy. Remember the two Iranian women, Maryam & Marzieh who have been held in the notorious Iranian prison Evin because of their Christian faith. These two brave women of God refused to deny their Lord, in the face of torture, sickness and near death. Saturday, both Maryam and Marzieh have been acquitted by the Iranian judicial system and set free in Iran and are now out of Iran, thanks to the prayers of the faithful who have been praying for these two sisters. As you are well aware of, Iran is another one of those muslim countries who persecute and kill Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ. God has heard and answered our prayers.

The following sums up Maryam andMarzieh's very trying ordeal in Iran’s Evin prison:

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

TEHRAN, IRAN (ANS) -- Two Christian women who were arrested for their faith have been acquitted and freed from Tehran's notorious Evin prison and are now in a country outside Iran.

Fourteen months after they were arrested for their Christian faith and activities, Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh have been acquitted of all charges by the Iranian judicial authorities.

However, according to Elam Ministries, they were warned that any future Christian activity in Iran will be seriously dealt with.

Today, Saturday May 22, 2010, they left Iran and arrived safely in another country.
Sam and Lin Yeghnazar, founders of Elam Ministries and spiritual parents to Maryam and Marzieh, met them at the airport. It was a tearful reunion.

“It was very emotional when we first saw them,” said Lin Yeghnazar, “Now, we want to see them rest and recover.”

Maryam and Marzieh are eager to thank Christians who have been praying for them. “We are most grateful to everyone who prayed for us,” Marzieh said, “I have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His people.”

• If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36

Maryam added, “I believe our arrest, imprisonment and subsequent release were in the timing and plan of God, and it was all for His glory. But the prayers of people encouraged and sustained us throughout this ordeal.”

Elam Ministries says: "Both young women have shown exceptional courage, daring to tell an Islamic judge that they would never deny their faith in Christ."

According to a media update from Elam, when Sam Yeghnazar told them their example had encouraged countless people around the world, they were quick to respond, “We are frail human beings with many weaknesses. The honor and glory go to God who has kept and used us, although we don’t know why He has chosen us. All the glory goes to Him.”

Maryam and Marzieh were arrested in March 2009 because of their Christian faith and were repeatedly placed under great pressure to recant and deny Jesus Christ.

They faced repeated interrogations, weeks in solitary confinement, and unhealthy prison conditions. Both became seriously sick during their imprisonment and did not receive the treatment they needed which greatly increased their suffering. Senior judges and officials also intimidated them.

Despite this, they remained faithful to Jesus Christ and did not deny Him. After their conditional release from prison in November 2009, they have had a very trying six months waiting for their case to be heard in an Islamic court where they could have been sentenced to prison again.

“We have seen the Lord do miracles over and over again. He kept us and gave us favor in prison, and sustained us during a very difficult period of waiting for our final trial,” said Marzieh.
Maryam and Marzieh have lived through many experiences during the last fourteen months. The days ahead are not certain. However, they are determined to serve the Lord and the Iranian church.

“We hope to eventually share some of what the Lord allowed us to go through to highlight the need and the opportunity for the church in Iran, but right now we will take time to pray and seek the Lord for His will,” said Maryam.

“On behalf of Maryam and Marzieh, and the entire Elam team, I would like to thank all the believers around the world who have interceded so faithfully for Maryam and Marzieh and the church in Iran,” says Sam Yeghnazar.

Please continue to pray for Maryam and Marzieh to fully recover and continue in fruitful ministry.

Elam Ministries says they look forward to providing continued updates on their situation.

Two Iranian Christian Women In Danger of Being Forgotten

from The Persecuted Church Weblog
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 Iran

For more information, please visit The Persecuted Church Weblog

Two Christian Women Arrested in Iran

Two Christian women, arrested in Iran, are now very sick and one may be dying.  Please keep these women in prayer and ask God to supernaturally intervene for these women.
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Iranian security forces have arrested two women for practicing Christianity. According to persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC), Marzieh Amairizadeh and Maryam Rustampoor were accused of being “anti-government activists”.

The Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN) reported that Iranian security forces searched an apartment shared by the two women, confiscated their belongings and took them in handcuffs to a Tehran police station.

The women were then brought before the Revolutionary Court before being sent to the notorious Evin prison. The women were told that to be released they needed to pay a bail of $400,000.

FCNN reported, “Both women are allowed just a one minute telephone call every day to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention. During their last call on March 28 Marzieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said ‘I am dying’”.

ICC claim that persecution in Iran has intensified in recent years due to an increase in Muslims converting to Christianity. Last year 50 Christians were arrested for their faith. There have also been reports that some Christians have died following torture by the Iranian government.

Jonathan Racho, ICC Regional Manager for Africa, said, “Iran’s persecution of Christian minorities violates the fundamental freedom of its citizens to worship freely. The international community has obligations to speak up for the rights of the persecuted Iranian Christians. We call upon Iranian officials to stop mistreating Marzieh and Maryam and release them from prison. Source

Pray for Maryam and Marzieth

Please remember to pray for Maryam and Marzieh whose suffering in the Iranian prison system I wrote about here, who converted to Christianity from Islam and are now being tried for apostasy after spending months of abuse and torture in Iran’s Evin prison. Please pray that the judge will find favor toward these two Christian sisters who have endured intense persecution for our Lord; May the Lord strengthen these two women and speak through them at their trial and protect them from their persecutors in Jesus name….

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