COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: ‘Continuously high’ wave of arrests increases; whereabouts, charges unknown.
LOS ANGELES – Three Christians from two different families were arrested from their homes Wednesday morning (Jan. 21) and are being held without charges, sources told Compass. Authorities took Jamal Ghalishorani, 49, and his wife Nadereh Jamali from their home in Tehran between 7 and 8 a.m., about a half hour after arresting Hamik Khachikian, an Armenian Christian also living in Tehran. Ghalishorani and his wife are Christian converts from Islam, considered “apostasy” in Iran and potentially punishable by death. The three arrested Christians belong to house churches, source said, and they hold jobs and are not supported as clergy. The arrests come as part of a tsunami of arrests in the past several months, sources said. Arrests and pressure on Christians from authorities have ramped up even further in the past few months, the source said, adding that the reasons were unclear. Another source, however, said the arrests are part of a concerted, nationwide government plan against non-Islamic faiths. “We are quite sure that these arrests are part of a bigger operation from the government,” the source said. “Maybe up to 50 people were arrested. In Tehran alone already some 10 people were arrested – all on the same day, January 21.” [Source: Compass Direct News] | Friday, January 23, 2009
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