Iran Lawyer Requests Early Release Pastor Pourmand

TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife) — The lawyer representing Iranian Christian prisoner Hamid Pourmand has petitioned for his early release from Tehran’s Evin Prison this month, during Iran’s annual prisoners’ amnesty, a Christian news agency reported Thursday, March 9.

Hundreds of Iranian prisoners are released each year between the February 11 anniversary of the 1989 Iranian revolution and Iranian Now Ruz or New Year celebrations on March 21.

“We don’t know how the authorities will respond to this appeal,” an unidentified Iranian Christian in contact with Pourmand’s lawyer told Compass Direct. “But we know that the prison officials and guards have extended very good cooperation with Hamid these past months,” the Christian was quoted as saying, apparently on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

REGULAR VISITS

A lay pastor jailed 18 months ago, Pourmand has regular visits at home with his family for three to five days each month, Christians said.

He was reportedly released for a special visit at Christmas time, apparently under international pressure. “They are very kind and polite to him, and they are very careful on how they treat him. People like his personality, and he is getting good treatment,” Compass Direct quoted the source as saying.

If Iranian authorities respond positively to this petition for amnesty, Pourmand’s lawyer believes he would be released by March 21. If he is not released by then the,
Hamid is expected to serve his complete three-year sentence.

Prison officials have reportedly stopped pressuring Pourmand to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam over the past four months. Pourmand, 48, was arrested on September 8, 2004, during a security police raid on an Assemblies of God church conference.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

After five months in solitary confinement, the former army officer was arraigned before a military court that found him guilty of deceiving the Iranian military by concealing his conversion from Islam to Christianity. Iranian law prohibits any non-Muslim from exercising authority over a Muslim.

Pourmand, a former Muslim, became a Christian in his 20s. He charged with religious proselytizing and committing apostasy, an offense punishable by the death penalty under Islamic law in Iran.

After reports in international media, including BosNewsLife, he was acquitted on the religious charges by an Islamic law (sharia) court. Pourmand was sentenced however to three years in prison at a military court martial.

Pourmand and his wife, Arlet, an Assyrian Christian, have two teenage sons. After his court martial, Pourmand was dishonorably discharged from the Iranian army; his family was subsequently evicted from their home in military housing in Bandar-i Bushehr. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Iran).

Copyright 2006 BosNewsLife. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
without our prior written consent.

Lift this up in Prayer

9

people are currently praying.

Latest Worthy News

Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Books by George Whitten

Identity in Messiah Revealed https://identityinmessiah.com

Identity in Messiah is a 60-day devotional journey designed to help you exchange the world’s labels for Heaven’s declaration. Each devotional combines rich Biblical teaching, Hebraic insights, practical application, and carefully selected Scripture passages to lead you into a deeper understanding of your position in Messiah.

Get it on Amazon

The Biblical Fall Feasts https://biblicalfallfeasts.com

In The Biblical Fall Feasts Revealed, George Whitten leads readers on a stirring devotional journey along the Hebrew month of Elul, the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), the Days of Awe (Yamim Nora'im), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), and the Eighth Day (Shemini Atzeret). With Scripture as the foundation, each chapter uncovers the prophetic beauty threaded into God’s calendar and shows how these sacred seasons still speak with urgency and hope today.

Get it on Amazon