Bishop Haik disappeared from the streets of Tehran on January 19, 1994.
Remember those in prison, as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as
if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3, NIV
Bishop Haik disappeared from the streets of Tehran on January 19, 1994.
The authorities reported his death to his family on January 30.
Haik was a man of God who believed in the God-given
right of a person to believe according to his conscience.
He loved the people of Iran whether
Christian or Muslim. For their religious freedom, he gave his life.
Pastor Haik Hovsepian-Mehr did not believe in succumbing to government
pressure and chose instead to "tell the world" about the plight of Iranian Christians.
He said: "If we go to jail or die for our faith, we want the whole Christian world to
know what is happening to their brothers and sisters."
One of the persons who worked very hard to
overturn Rev. Dibaj's sentence was Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr.
Bishop Haik, an Armenian pastor,
shared the news of Rev. Dibaj's death sentence as well as other violations of
religious freedom of
Christians in Iran with the world.
Due to the world's reaction, Rev. Dibaj was released on January 16, 1994.
Five months after the release from prison, Rev. Mehdi Dibadj
was abducted mysteriously and suffered martyrdom in June, 1994.
"Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection...
they were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword... the world was
not worthy of them." -- Hebrews 11: 37-38.
Martyred & Imprisoned Christian Leaders in Iran
2010 - Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani - Gilan, Iran - Sentenced to be executed on 10/24/2010 for Apostasy
2010 - October - a young believer has died in Iran after he had been severely beaten by a relative who objected to his strong faith in Christ. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. (Reported by Elam)
2010 - September 23, Nine followers of Jesus were detained in Hamedan, the capital of Hamadan province, on charges of evangelism, which potentially carriesthe death penalty under strict laws in Iran.
2010 - July 24 at 9:00 p.m., 27-year-old Neshan Saeedi was spending a quiet evening at home with his wife and young daughter when plain-clothes security forces entered his house and arrested him. The security officers searched the home and seized personal belongings such as a computer, CDs containing films of Christian seminars and teachings, Christian books and Bibles, and family photo albums. As of September 09, 2010 - there is no information about the condition of Neshan.
2010 - July 18, 15 Christians detained in Mashhad,Iran's second largest city, remain detained and are "under pressure pressure to recant their faith but are refusing to do so." - (Reported by The Voice of the Martyrs)
2010 - April 29, Ali Golchin (29), has been held in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin prison since he was arrested in his home town of Varamin on April 29. After weeks of appealing to the authorities, Ali's father was finally allowed access to him on June 17 -- though they were allowed only 10 minutes together. Ali was released on bail on July 25.
2009 - October, Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani - Held in prison in Shiraz, Iran - has been given limited contact with his family and his attorney.
2008 - In July 2008, An Iranian Christian Couple in their 60s (Abbas Amiri & Sakineh Rahnama) died from injuries sustained when secret police raided a house church service hosted at their house and severly beat them.
2007 - In June, a number of Iranian Christians have been arrested and are held in unknown places, including Mr. fard from Tehran.
2007 - Mr. Patrick, an Iranian Christian and a member of Church of Kermanshah was arrested in May.
2007 - Several Iranian Christians from Church of Mashhad were arrested in February.
2006 - 14 Iranian Christians from Church of Rasht were arrested in December.
2006 - Iranian secret police began to raid and arrest leaders of the Islamic republic's indigenous "Jesus Only" movement Sunday December 10, arriving unannounced in the early morning hours to search their homes in Tehran, Karaj, Rasht and Bandar-i Anzali.
Martyred & Imprisoned Christian Leaders in Iran
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