Assyrian Priest Arrested in Tehran

Assyrian Pastor arrested following house raid in Tehran
http://barnabasfund.org/news/Assyrian-Pastor-arrested-following-house-raid-in-Tehran
IRAN

15/01/2015 14:14:46

Share this article

Tweet
Interrupting a Christmas celebration, security officers from the Revolutionary Court raided the home of Pastor Victor Bet-Tamarz on 26 December in Tehran, Iran, and temporarily arrested everyone in attendance. Pastor Victor and one other man remain under arrest, although there is no further information as to their situation.

Each of the Christians present were filmed and told to identify themselves to the camera, stating why they were there and why they thought they were being arrested. Separating the men from the women, the agents proceeded to search each person present, confiscating Bibles, mobile phones and identification papers. Pastor Victor’s home was also searched and his computer, mobile phones and books were seized.

Victor Bet-Tamarz is an Assyrian Pastor who was formerly officially recognised by the Iranian government. As an ancient community of modern-day Iran, Assyrian Christians have been officially permitted to worship in their own language, which is a form of Aramaic. However, Pastor Victor’s church in Tehran has remained closed since 2009 after he refused to comply with regulations that demanded Assyrian church leaders ban non-Assyrians from attending and stop services in Farsi, the language of the Muslim majority.

As an officially recognised minority group in Iran, Assyrians are granted one parliamentary seat, currently occupied by Yonatan Betkolia, who estimates that today there are as few as 20,000 Assyrians in Iran.



http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/01/18/iran-has-held-an-assyrian-pastor-in-prison-since-raiding-his-home-on-christmas-day/
ASSYRIAN PASTOR IN PRISON SINCE RAIDING HIS HOME ON CHRISTMAS DAY
AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE
by ADELLE NAZARIAN
18 Jan 2015
7
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Court interrupted Christmas when officers raided the home of an Assyrian pastor in Tehran and arrested everyone in attendance. Pastor Victor Bet-Tamarz and another man remain under arrest; the others were reportedly freed.

All of the Christians present were videotaped by the officers and asked to state their full names and explain why they thought they were being arrested, according to the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA). After separating the men from women (mixing between genders is strictly prohibited under Sharia Law), the guards reportedly proceeded to search all those present, confiscating Bibles, mobile phones, and identification papers. Pastor Victor’s residence was also searched, and his computer, mobile phones, and books were seized.

Assyrian Christians have been officially permitted to worship in their own language, which is a form of Aramaic; Aramaic is the language used in the Zohar which is the literary work associated with Jewish mysticism known as the Kabbalah. Pastor Victor had previously been formally recognized by the Iranian government; however, his church in Tehran was closed in 2009 because he had refused to comply with Iranian law, which calls for the banning of non-Assyrians from attending Assyrian churches, AINA notes. The Islamic Republic of Iran also demanded that Pastor Victor’s services only be taught in Assyrian and not in Farsi, which is the official language of the Muslim majority.

There are less than 20,000 Assyrians left in Iran today, and as an officially recognized minority group, they are granted one parliamentary seat–which is currently occupied by Yonatan Betkolia.

Iran’s Basij or “morality police” also apprehended nine other Christians on Christmas Day without giving any reason for the arrests. The Basij (in Farsi the full name is Sazmane Basij-e Mostaz’afin which literally translates to “The Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed”) is primarily comprised of volunteers. In addition to the Christmas arrests, the Islamic Republic carried out the executions of nine people in Iran’s infamous Adelabad prison, where gross violations of human rights are also carried out–including routine beatings, harassment, and sodomy as a form of torture. In Farsi, “Adel”  means one who exhibits “justice,” has morals, and is righteous.

Ironically, the day of the multiple arrests and executions, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sent out the following Christmas Eve and Christmas Day tweets in which he sang words of love and admiration for Jesus Christ and called on people to “truly honor Jesus’s birthday”:

#Jesus like all prophets was herald of monotheism& human dignity; nowadays humanity needs this message more than ever.#Ferguson #Gaza 1/1/93

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2014

If #Jesus were among us today he wouldn’t spare a second to fight the arrogants&support the oppressed.#Ferguson #Gaza pic.twitter.com/P0N8jmKyQU

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2014

It’s time for all caring Muslims, Christians & Jews to obey the prophets & truly honor #Jesus‘ birthday by standing up agnst Israeli crimes.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) December 24, 2014

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the largest state-sponsor of terrorism in the world.

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter: @AdelleNaz.