Behnam Irani is a 41 year old pastor from Karaj, Iran. He is married to Christine, an Armenian Christian, and has a daughter, Rebecca, 10 and a son Adriel, 3. He came to know Jesus Christ in 1992 and has been a pastor since 2002.
On April 14, 2010 MOIS officers came into a house church service, assaulted him and took him into custody. A service was taking place at the time and the security officials interrogated those attending as well as confiscating Bibles, Christian literature and DVD’s. Brother Behnam was in prison for two months then he was released on bail in June 2010. In January 2011 he was tried for and convicted of crimes against national security.
On May 31, 2011 a warrant was issued for his arrest so he turned himself into the prison and began serving a one year sentence.
Video of This Arrest
Shortly before the time he was to be released on October 18, 2011 he was informed by letter that he was now required to serve his five year prison sentence from 2008.
Tortured and Gravely Ill
Brother Behnam is now gravely ill. In the past year he has been beaten by prisoners under the watchful eye of prison authorities. As a result he is beginning to lose his eyesight, has what seems to be untreated Inflammatory Bowel Disease, is barely able to speak and has trouble walking. If conditions don’t change in prison sources close to the family are concerned he will die in prison. Our sources have informed us that in July 2012 he had been vomiting blood and went unconscious as a result. He was sent to the prison nurse station, but never treated for the ulcer. He was quickly transferred back to his cell. Our sources believe that the Iranian government is not allowing him to visit a hospital because they want him to die in prison. I’m thankful we serve a God that can change situations and preserve the life of his saints. Please hold him and his family up in prayer.
Other Concerns
Prison Where Pastor Behnam Is Being Held
Another area of concern is that in the written verdict from 2008 the appeals court recommended the prosecutor pursue an apostasy death sentence against him stating, “Considering the explicit confessions of the abovementioned individual [Irani] during the trial, that his father and mother were Muslims and he, himself, also opted for Islam when he reached maturity, and then left the holy religion of Islam and became a Christian. And that he also deceived a group of people into leaving Islam. Therefore as mentioned in … [Islamic religious text] … the abovementioned individual is definitely an innate apostate, and the sentence for innate apostasy is death.”
You can view more pictures of Behnam Irani at https://plus.google.com/photos/117483136261587595857/albums/5725321176616731009.
Please Pray!
We desperately need your prayers for brother Behnam. He is gravely ill and needs something to happen quickly or he may die in prison from slowly bleeding to death as a result of the ulcer. Please spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, Email and print out this page and hand it out to your pastor and to people at your church Please follow the instructions on how to do that. The address of the prison is:
Ghezel Hesar Prison
Karaj, Albourz State, Iran
Write a letter encouraging him and include scripture. DO NOT SEND MONEY OR GIFTS and do not speak negatively about the government.
Join this cause to sign a petition for Pastor Behnam. Go to Causes.