| One of the ten evangelical church leaders of the Assemblies of God Church in Iran reportedly released from detention by police authorities on Sept. 12 may possibly be charged with "espionage" and face the death penalty, sources reported today "Chances that Hamid Pourmand will be sentenced to death are growing," AsiaNews reported. "His conversion alone—which a friend said he never kept secret—is ground for the death penalty for, under Islamic law, apostasy is a capital crime." Born a Muslim, Pourmand converted to Christianity 25 years ago. AsiaNews reports that over the past decade, local Protestant congregations have been harshly suppressed by the Iranian authorities for allowing Muslims to visit their services or for being suspected of baptizing former Muslims converting to Christianity. There are about 360,000 Christians in Iran out of a population of 65 million. Of these, 335,000 are Protestants. |