October 27, 2020 (Morning Star News) – The flogging an underground Christian in Iran received and the harsh prison sentence upheld for the pastor of a legally recognized church reflect the growing dangers of Christian faith in the country.
Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi on Oct. 14 received 80 lashes for drinking Communion wine. Alcohol is forbidden only for Muslims in Iran, but since Iranian law does not recognize Omidi’s conversion from Islam to Christianity, he was sentenced to the lashes in September 2016.
Omidi was summoned on Oct. 10 for the punishment to his home city of Rasht – where his house-church involvement first led to his arrest in 2012 – from his internal exile in an area 1,000 kilometers south, according to London-based advocacy group Article18. Two of his fellow house-church members, Mohammad Ali (Yasser) Mossayebzadeh and Zaman (Saheb) Fadaee, have also been sentenced to flogging.
Omidi continues serving his two years of internal exile for house-church activities, which authorities termed, “acting against national security.” For that charge Omidi also served two years in prison, reduced from the original sentence of 10 years, and he was released on Aug. 18, according to advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
He had also been flogged seven years ago, being one of four men sentenced on Oct. 6, 2013 to 80 lashes for drinking Communion…
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