A man with Parkinson’s and his wife are imprisoned in Iran for their faith in Christ

A 63-year-old man with advanced Parkinson’s, Homayoun Zhav, and his wife, Sara Ahmadi, were jailed by Iranian authorities for being Christians. According to information provided by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Zhave was sent with his wife Ahmadi and two other Christians to Elvin prison for practicing his Christian faith in a house.

The couple of Persian and Muslim origin decided to convert to faith in Christ. Both were first arrested in June 2019, when authorities accused Sara of leading a church in her house and her husband of being a member of it. Two months later, Zhaveh was released on bail. In November 2020, Zhaveh was sentenced to two years in prison, accused of belonging to “organizations that aim to disrupt national security.” In December his sentence was confirmed and shortly after, the Court rejected his appeal for a new trial. In turn, Sara has an eight-year prison sentence and Zhaveh, two years.

Along these lines, Iran is carrying out a great repression against Christians. Just a few months ago, Iranian authorities jailed 58-year-old Joseph Shahbazian, an Armenian Christian now serving a 10-year sentence, and Malihe Nazari, a Christian Persian woman who was also born into a Muslim home and sentenced to death. 6 years in prison.

Every day more Christians are imprisoned because of their faith. In data, in the first six months of 2022, the authorities arrested 58 people and handed down 25 convictions, compared to 15 in 2021.