Iranian Christian couple detained for holding prayer and worship services

A Christian couple in Mashhad, Iran, has been detained for hosting Christian prayer and worship meetings in their home, reports Mohabat News. The couple has been identified as Hassan Razavi Derakhshan, 65, and his wife, Parya, 61.

Based on reports, several plainclothes security agents arrived at the couple’s home on December 27. Only Parya was home, and the officers—identified as agents of the revolutionary court—demanded she call her husband and have him return home immediately. Her husband obliged.

There is no report of what transpired between security officers and the couple. When relatives noticed the couple’s absence, they contacted Razavi’s workplace; his colleagues made them aware of the arrest.

Relatives say the couple’s house is missing personal items such as bibles, Christian literature, CDs and pictures of Jesus that had been hanging on the walls. After many attempts to gain information on the couple’s whereabouts, colleagues and relatives learned the couple was arrested and taken to the Vakil-Abad detention centre.

Sources reported that the couple was arrested because they hosted prayer and worship meetings in their home. They also organized a Christmas celebration at their home on December 22.

Family and friends are concerned, as Parya recently had major back surgery, following a car accident, and is not in the best of health.

Please pray for Razavi and Parya. Pray for their safety, health and well-being. Pray for all believers in Iran, that increased persecution will result in increased boldness (Acts 4:29-31). Pray that the persecutors will know Christ’s love, forgiveness and blessing through the lives of the Christians (Romans 12:14, 12).