On September 9, a Christian convert was arrested in Shiraz, Iran. The 36-year-old woman, who works as a hairdresser, visited the prosecutor’s office to help one of her friends detained a day before. She was arrested at the prosecutor’s office while bringing him documents needed for his release.

According to Article 18, a nonprofit group promoting religious freedom and advocating on behalf of persecuted Christians in Iran, the arrested woman is detained in Pelk-e 100, a detention facility belonging to the Ministry of Intelligence. She is charged with “Christianity” and “illegal Christian activities.” Her family’s requests to visit her were denied, and her request for a lawyer has not been granted. Since her arrest, no further information has been provided about her circumstances.

It is not the first time in the family that one of its members has been arrested. The two older sisters of the arrested woman were among those eight Christian converts who were arrested in 2019 because of their faith. Both of them were detained and fined; the eldest sister, who was working as a nurse, lost her job and was banned from working in any national institutions; the other sister lost custody over her adoptive daughter because she and her husband are both Christians. Now, with the arrest of their third daughter, the family is forced to live through these hard and uncertain times once more.

Source: Article 18