BOGOR, WEST JAVA, INDONESIA (ANS) – A crowd of Muslim hard-liners disrupted about 100 members of the embattled GKI Yasmin congregation as they held divine services at a member’s home in Bogor, West Java, on Sunday.

“We were conducting our worship at one member’s home before people from Forkami and Garis came to our place,” GKI Yasmin spokeswoman Dwiati Novita Rini told The Jakarta Post (www.thejakartapost.com) over the telephone on Sunday.

Dwiati said she did not know why the groups – the Islamic Reform Movement (Garis) and the Muslim Communications Forum (Forkami) – were protesting.

The congregation resisted efforts by about 50 Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers to stop their service, Dwiati said.

“The Satpol PP came around 9 a.m. and were trying to stop our activity because they didn’t want any clashes to happen. [House of Representatives member] Lily Wahid was negotiating with one of the Satpol PP officers and the congregation could continue worship,” she said.

The congregation completed their service peacefully around 10 a.m. and the demonstrators from Forkami and Garis left the congregation member’s home around 11 a.m, Dwiati added.

“The Bogor City administration, citing permit application problems, has barred the congregation from conducting religious services for more than two years, defying a 2010 Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing the congregation’s right to hold services at its church building,” added the Jakarta story.

CAIRO, EGYPT (ANS) – A Muslim mob yesterday (Jan.19) attacked Copts in the Upper Egyptian village of Rahmaniya-Kebly, Nag Hammadi, Qena province, destroying and torching their homes, straw huts and shops, while chanting Allahu Akbar.

Mary Abdelmassih, an Egyptian journalist writing for the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) — www.aina.org — says no one was reported killed or injured. According to reports, security forces were present but did not intervene and the fire brigade arrived 90 minutes late.

AINA reports that an eye-witness said a straw hut belonging to a Coptic Christian was torched to clear the area for a mosque. There are more than 300 mosques in the village and one church.

AINA says that according to Coptic residents, the reason behind the violence was the parliamentary elections. The Salafists wanted to prevent Copts, who number more than 50 percent of the inhabitants (20,000), from voting because they intended to vote for two moderate Muslims and not the Salafi candidates. “No Copt from Rahmaniya-Kebly was able to vote today, so the Salafists will win the elections,” said a witness. Copts were forcefully prevented from voting.

AINA goes on to say that US-based WAY TV, which covered live yesterday’s Rahmaniya attacks, called commander Osama, head of security at Rahmaniya, who said “everything was OK” — despite live pictures on TV of the burning homes.

AINA reported that Joseph Nasralla of WAY TV spoke to security and made them aware that the videos of the fires were being broadcast in the U.S. and Middle East, which caused the immediate dispatch of security vehicles. By late evening the violence had stopped.

In another incident yesterday, a large number of Salafis and members of the Muslim Brotherhood entered the Abu Makka church, in Bahteem, Shubra-el-Khayma, Qaliubia province, and informed the congregation that the church has no license and no one should pray in it. One Muslim said the 1,300 square meter church would be suitable for a mosque and a hospital.

AINA said Bishop Marcus of Shubra el Khayma was scheduled to inaugurate the incomplete church and celebrate the Epiphany mass in the evening.

However, according to Coptic witnesses the Bishop cancelled the festivities, which angered the congregation, who were not informed of the reason. A witness said the Muslim promised to be back Friday.

SURREY, ENGLAND – Thirteen Eritrean hostages currently held in northern Sinai, close to the Israeli border face a bleak future.

They’ve issued a desperate appeal for international intervention after being informed that they will be sold to organ traffickers if a large ransom is not paid for them.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that in an appeal publicized by Italian NGO EveryOne Group, the hostages said, “We have been beaten, tortured, humiliated in the most atrocious fashion. We have now received an ultimatum from our persecutors: if our families do not pay US$33,000 per head within 24 hours, we will be sold to clandestine clinics that traffic in human organs.”

CSW said the hostages continued, “We are calling on the civilized countries, religious people who abhor these atrocities, the United Nations and the European Union not to abandon us. If we had been Europeans or Americans, would you have left us in this terrible condition? We are young men and women who have fled from a country that persecuted us.”

CSW said that Eritrean citizens are fleeing the repressive regime of President Isaias Afwerki at a rate of 1,000 people per month, conservatively speaking. Eritrea has one of the world’s worst human rights records, including stringent restrictions on religious freedom.

Tens of thousands of Eritreans are thought to be imprisoned in the country’s many detention facilities, including around 3,000 Christians. CSW said hundreds of Eritrean refugees, including women and children, have fallen into the hands of human traffickers.

Many are still held hostage in purpose-built camps in the Sinai Desert, CSW reported. There they face harassment, extreme sexual abuse and torture until relatives or friends make large payments to secure their release. A recent CNN report also confirmed that many African refugees have organs removed from their bodies for sale, before being left to die.

Andrew Johnston, Advocacy Director at Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), said in a news release, “This group of young people is representative of many other Eritrean refugees who are being held hostage in the Sinai. It has been over a year since these hostage camps were brought to light. In some cases the people traffickers have even been identified, yet these camps still exist, and the inhumane treatment of these refugees, along with the threat of organ trafficking, continues.”

He added, “We urge the Egyptian authorities to take effective action to end human trafficking within their borders, and to ensure that perpetrators of these appalling crimes are brought to justice. Human trafficking is a transnational crime carried out by criminal syndicates, and ought to be of international concern. It is therefore vital that the international community assists in combating this affront to human dignity, and in ensuring that victims are afforded protection and refuge.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide works for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

For further information, visit www.csw.org.uk.

NIGERIA (ANS) — The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to leave the area amid a rising tide of violence there.

CNN reports that Boko Haram spokesman, Abul Qaqa, also said late Sunday that Boko Haram fighters are ready to confront soldiers sent to the area under a state of emergency declared in parts of four states by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday.

“We will confront them squarely to protect our brothers,” Abul Qaqa said during a telephone call with local media. He also called on Muslims living in southern Nigeria to “come back to the north because we have evidence they will be attacked.”

CNN said that recent weeks have seen an escalation in clashes between Boko Haram and security forces in the north-eastern states of Borno and Yobe, as well as attacks on churches and assassinations. Nearly 30 people were killed on Christmas Day at a Catholic church near the federal capital, Abuja — a sign that Boko Haram is prepared to strike beyond its heartland.

Human rights activist Shehu Sani told CNN that the latest Boko Haram threat is credible, but many Christians born and raised in the north have nowhere else to go.

“The killings will continue,” he said, and Boko Haram may respond to the state of emergency by taking its campaign of violence to areas not yet affected.

Sani said the state of emergency and an enhanced presence of the security forces would not improve the situation, alleging that troops had already been involved in human rights abuses and had done little to reduce violence.

CNN explained that Nigeria has almost equal numbers of Christian and Muslims, with the south predominantly Christian. Boko Haram and other Islamic groups claim the north has been starved of resources and marginalized by the government of Jonathan, who is a Christian.

Boko Haram (which according to the group means “Western civilization is forbidden”) is demanding the imposition of Islamic sharia law across Nigeria.

CNN goes on to say that Christian leaders have demanded a stronger response to the attacks from the government and the Muslim community. Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, complained last week that the response of Islamic leaders had been “unacceptable and an abdication of their responsibilities.”

“The Christian community is fast losing confidence in government’s ability to protect our rights,” Oritsejafor said.

David Cook of Rice University, who has studied the rise of Boko Haram, said that “if radical Muslim violence on a systematic level were to take hold in Nigeria … it could eventually drive the country into a civil war.”

CNN said corruption, poverty and a lack of government services have helped Boko Haram gain support, especially among young Muslims out of work. So has a perception that the Muslim north has been marginalized by a political establishment drawn largely from the Christian south.

Cook says the group has been responsible for at least 45 major attacks, which have included assassinations — frequently using gunmen on motorbikes — and, more recently, suicide bombings beyond its northern heartland.

Beyond the security forces and Christian targets, it has assassinated Muslim clerics who oppose the group, and even killed a prominent Boko Haram member who had attended talks to explore a truce. Boko Haram’s presence in the city of Maiduguri has made it almost ungovernable, according to analysts.

Analysts say its ability to inflict mass casualties has grown fast. In August, a suicide bomber struck the U.N. building in Abuja, killing 23 people. In November, some 150 people were killed in a series of bombings and shootings in Damaturu, capital of Yobe state.

CNN also stated the commander of U.S. Africa Command, Gen. Carter Ham, has suggested Boko Haram may have developed links with other Islamic jihadist groups in the region, especially al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Sani agrees, and says Boko Haram’s leaders have established sanctuaries across the desert borders in Niger and Chad, out of reach of the Nigerian security forces.

CNN added that the former U.S. ambassador in Nigeria, John Campbell, says that Boko Haram is able to finance itself “through bank robberies and is arming itself by thefts from government armories and purchases — there is no shortage of weapons on the market.”

Less than two months ago, President Jonathan described attacks by Boko Haram as a temporary setback, which would soon be a thing of the past, CNN said.

CNN said Jonathan now appears to see the group as a lethal threat that demands the full attention of the security services. But since Yusuf’s death, Boko Haram has had no obvious leader or structure, and appears to act as loosely connected cells. And it is feeding on deep-seated grievances that the government seems unable to address.

According to CNN, Cook warns that “as more and more territories become ungovernable, such as Maiduguri, then Muslims more and more will want to join Boko Haram, if only because it represents the one group that can actually project power and hold out the illusion of security to the people.”

AHVAZ, IRAN (ANS) – Two days before Christmas, State Security agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, attacked the Assembly of God Church in Ahvaz, and detained the pastor, the Rev. Farhad Sabok-Rooh, and his wife.

According to the Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN) — www.fcnn.com – the attack took place on Friday, December 23, 2011, at 11:00 local time, during the weekly service in the church located in the city of Ahvaz, the center of oil rich province of Khuzestan, situated about 559 miles south-west of Tehran, when a large number of State Security agents surrounded the building and raided the church, located in Kianpars 3th street.

“All those present, including children attending their Friday school, were arrested, mobile phones confiscated, and church building thoroughly searched by the plainclothes agents who refused to identify themselves,” said the FCCN story.

“A number of computers, all audio-visual equipment, and hundreds of copies of Christian books, were seized and removed; Church attendees were relieved of their mobile phones and were taken on two buses to an unknown destination.

“A number of armed State Security agents of the Islamic Republic stayed on who continued their search for a considerable time afterwards.”

FCNN reports that almost all detainees, after a thorough searched and considerable verbal abuse, were released a few hours later.

However, Rev. Farhad Sabok-Rooh, his wife Shahnaz, and two other Christian workers, named David and Naser, have not been released but are being held in an unidentified prison.

“The released church attendees have been told to be ready to be summoned back, and if it is deemed not to be harmful to the security of the Islamic Republic, their mobiles may be returned then,” said FCCN.

However, the whereabouts of Rev. Farhad, his wife Shahnaz, and the other two church workers is as yet unknown, and the “authorities” have thus far not given any reason for their vehement Anti-Christian activities in Ahvaz.

“During the months of January and February of this year; many house churches in Ahvaz and Dezfool were raided and during a wave of attacks against Christians,” added FCCN.

“Many have been detained while many more were called-in to the Ministry of Intelligence offices in Ahwaz. According to one source at least three have been detained and more than 20 were called in for interrogation and intimidation.”

MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES – A 71-year old pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance was shot dead on Monday, December 19th, 2011, a few blocks away from a private hospital in this island region, while on board a public Jeepney, the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines.

A police investigation identified the victim as Pastor Melencio Magdayao of the province who was seated on the front seat and was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen on board a motorcycle.

Police Station 6 chief Albert Larubis said Pastor Magdayao sustained two bullet wounds in the head and died on the spot.

A police investigator has recovered two empty .45 caliber capsules from the crime scene.

The duo of assailants immediately fled from the crime scene that occured in the middle of vehicular traffic congestion.

The province is known for Christian pastors becoming victims of persecution. Early this year, a lady pastor of a local Pentecostal church was hacked to death by suspected Moslem rebels in front of her daughter.

Christian community leaders have asked their Christian brethren around the world to pray for the evangelistic work in this restive region. There are three active Moslem rebel groups fighting for a possible separate Islamic state in the predominantly Christian Southern Philippines. They are the Moro National Liberation Front, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf.

TURKEY (ANS) — Abdol-Rahman Mohammad Pouri is one of a thousand Iranian youth who was born and brought up in a strict Islamic family, but chose not to follow his parent’s religion and converted to Christianity.

According to a story by Iranian Christian News Agency, Mohabat News, although he had to leave his home, he has remained strong in his faith and continues to grow in his relationship with God. Abdol-Rahman, 29 is currently seeking asylum in the neighboring country of Turkey.

Mohabat News reported he said that after he heard about Jesus he began to share his faith in the city of Semnan.

He said, “This action caused me problems as our city was fairly small. As a result and since I had some good Christian friends in Mahabad, I moved to that city and rented a house … That was the starting point for my extensive evangelical activities.”

He continued, “In my opinion, the violence and contradictions in Islam made it impossible for me to feel close to God. Because of this I replaced my traditional religion with Christianity.”

Separation from Family and friends
His conversion caused him family and social problems.

Mohabat News said Abdol-Rahman explained, “When my family and friends learned of my decision, they didn’t accept it and rejected me as a result. They made me leave our family home. In addition, my friends treated me like my family had and began calling me an apostate and an infidel. In Iran, anyone who converts to Christianity faces various problems. In spite of the love I had for my family, I had to leave my home. Everyone rejected me. The only thing that helped me through all these challenges was my faith in Christ.”

Restrictions of the Traditional Society
Abdol-Rahman spoke about people who choose to become Christians in Iran’s traditional society with all the security restrictions.

Mohabat News reported he said, “We couldn’t express our faith among other people or attend church freely. And because of the difficulties we faced about going to a church, I decided to devote my rental house to the Lord to be used as a house church.”

According to Abdol-Rahman, speaking openly about their faith and going to the churches was so dangerous for him and his friends that they had to gather in a house church in order to worship God, receive Christian teaching and study the Bible.

Their house church attendance attracted the attention of the security authorities who raided the house church, and prevented them from worshiping. In addition, some of the house church leaders were also identified by the authorities.

Mohabat News said Abdol-Rahman criticized the current Sharia based laws of Iran saying, “The Iranian regime is based on Islam, and in Islamic doctrine anyone who leaves Islam is considered an apostate and deserves to be killed. The Islamic regime is afraid of any kind of gathering, especially ones that contradict the Islamic faith and regime. In short, they cannot tolerate any other way of thinking than their own.”

Abdol-Rahman described his painful experiences in Iran and said the situation of his fellow believers in Iran is intense. “They face all the above-mentioned problems on a daily basis which unfortunately, sometimes end up in stress, torture, long term imprisonments and even death threats.”

Increase of Threats and Leaving the Country
Abdol-Rahman then described his leaving of Iran. He said, “After our house church was discovered by security authorities, I fled to the city of Urmia and stayed overnight with a friend in that city. The next day I learned that security authorities had broken into my home. So I decided to leave the country to avoid being arrested.”

Mohabat News said he added, “After some days, when I arrived in Turkey I also heard that security officers had raided my father’s home in Semnan. They showed my family a warrant and thoroughly searched there as well. During the raid they confiscated some personal belongings of my brother including his computer, CDs and some of his books.”

According to Mohabat News, Abdol-Rahman said after the security authorities made his house a target in the city of Mahabad, they raided it. Then the judicial and security authorities, following an order issued by the provincial court, confiscated all his belongings and his savings.

He said the authorities even sent a letter to his employers ordering them to fire him and ban him from working. They also sent several subpoenas to his father’s home, instructing him to appear at the revolutionary court of Semnan. But before all this happened he had left the country for Turkey.

CAIRO, EGYPT(ANS) – Thousands of Muslims attacked and besieged Copts in el Ghorayzat village, population 80,000, killing two Copts and severely wounding others, as well as looting and torching homes and businesses, according to the Assyrian International News Agency (www.aina.org ).

In an article for AINA, Egyptian journalist Mary Abdelmassih says that a quarrel between a Copt, John Hosni, and Mahmoud Abdel-Nazeer, who later died in hospital, turned into collective punishment of all Copts in the majority Christian village of elGhorayzat, in the Maragha district of Sohag province.

AINA reports that Muslims vowed not to bury Abdel-Nazeer until John Hosni is punished. Hosni apparently fled from the village with his family, “fearing a wholesale massacre of Copts,” reported activist Mariam Ragy.

The news agency says the events started on Monday, November 28, when John Hosni, a building supplier, had a quarrel with his neighbor, Mahmoud Abdel-Nazeer (48), over some steel rods and cement Hosni had left in the street to use for erecting a wall around his house.

This was perceived by Mr. Abdel-Nazeer as extending the home into the street, which is public property, AINA says.

“Instead of reporting this building transgression to the police or local authorities, Abdel-Nazeer took the matter in his own hands and brought some Salafists and torched the store and the home of the Copt,” said an eyewitness.

In the altercation between the neighbors, Hosni hit Abdel-Nazeer in the head with a wooden branch, which lead to his death later in hospital, AINA reported.

In its report, AINA says that angry Muslims murdered two Christian brothers, Kamel Tamer Ibrahim (55) and Kameel Tamer Ibrahim (50), in revenge. The brothers were not a party to the altercation. Kamel Tamer, who was defending his shop from looting, was murdered in front of his wife. His brother was also murdered in front of his wife for defending his home.

AINA goes on to report that three other Christians, Maher Samir Gota, his wife, and his brother Osama Samir Gota, were severely injured and are in intensive care.

The AINA report says: “They were in their homes when their shop was broken into and looted by Muslims. Maher and his wife were stabbed and Osama received a blow on the head. The ambulance could not go to them to transport them to hospital. He was privately transported by his friends. There were reports of Muslims preventing the fire brigades from reaching the burning homes.”

After killing the Copts, Muslims went on a rampage, looting and burning Christian owned homes and businesses, AINA reported.

AINA went on to state that despite killing the two Coptic brothers the Muslims insist they have not yet avenged Abdel-Nazeer’s death.

“This is not revenge; this is simply an excuse to kill people because they are Christians, as well as loot their property,” said an eyewitness.

“Security was present in all the streets, and protected the churches, but they did nothing in the face of Muslims killings, looting and torching of Christian property,” said another eyewitness, who managed to get out of the village “by a miracle,” as he put it, leaving all his belongings and money behind.

“We do not know whether we will be able to go back to the village as the Muslims refuse to bury the dead Muslim before killing all Copts in the village.”

The eyewitness added that Muslims are openly walking the streets carrying firearms and clubs while the police standby and do nothing. The number of police is not enough, there are about 500 Muslims for every one policeman.

AINA explained the Copts have been prevented from fleeing the village by Muslims, who have imposed a blockade. Some were able to flee with the aid of some Muslims, who drove them out in a truck, telling the guards at the exit point these people have nothing to do with the ongoing problem.

AINA said Christian inhabitants are still afraid to venture into the streets.

Father Lucas Aghapios, pastor of St. George’s Church in alGhorayzat, described the situation in the village today as “cautioned” peace. He said that although the Muslim attack started at 11 AM, security forces turned up late in the evening, and Muslim transgressions occurred in the presence of the security forces.

Father Lucas said that yesterday Muslim attacks resulted in 25 incidents of looting and torching of Christian-owned shops, in addition to 8 homes. He confirmed the eyewitness accounts of the events, but could not confirm that John Hosni had surrendered to the police.

He told AINA:”Yesterday John Hosni was in a safe place, but he is not in the village, I do not know his whereabouts.” He also does not know whether any Muslims were arrested in connection with the slaughtering of the two Coptic brothers.

AINA said a funeral for Abdel-Nazeer was held on Tuesday.

Bishop Bachoum of Sohag said yesterday evening on CTV Coptic Channel that funerals for the two Copts were held in Sohag and they were buried in their village of elGhorayzat, under heavy security. He said that efforts are under way for a “reconciliation” meeting between Muslim and Christians elders.

Commenting on the elGhorayzat events, Dr. Fawzi Hermina, a Coptic activist who lives in Sohag, said that Copts are living in a state of Statelessness — with no state, no security and no law.

“Unfortunately the Copts, being the weak party in society, are paying the price,” he said.

HAMEDAN, IRAN (ANS) – An Iranian Christian were attacked soon after their release from prison, according to the FCNN (Farsi Christian News Network) news agency www.fcnn.com .

FCNN says they were one of two married couples who had been taken from their home by agents of the Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Regime in Sep. 2010, and held imprisoned for up to eight months without ever being formally charged.

This Christian couple, Arash Kermajani and his wife Arezoo Teymouri, who had been snatched and illegally-detained on their way to their homes and families, were attacked after their release from prison, and soon after this, fled the country for fear of their lives.

According to FCNN, this Christian couple were detained while guests of their friends Mr. and Mrs. Vahik and Sonia Abramian in Hamedan, in northwestern Iran.

FCNN reported that plain-clothes agents of the Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Regime raided the house, arrested them all, and took them to Centre 113 of Hamedan. They were then taken to a secret prison which was later identified as the central prison of Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Regime in Hamedan.

FCNN says that throughout their detention in this secret prison, they were kept in solitary confinement. Mrs. Arezoo Teymouri for 11 days, and her husband Arash Kermajani for 43 days; then transferred to the general ward of yet another notorious prison in Hamedan.

Solitary confinement and general prison ward

After their escape from the Islamic Republic, Mrs. Arezoo Teymouri, in an interview with an FCNN reporter, spoke of the conditions under which she was held and the reasons for her transfer to the general ward so much sooner than her husband: ” We were staying as guests at Brother Vahik and Sister Sonia’s house. On that particular day we were watching a film when State Security agents stormed in, the shock and induced fear caused spasms of bleeding, which coupled with the hunger strike that I started soon after, reduced my blood pressure to such a dangerously low levels that they were forced to take me to the city’s main hospital, demanding that I should not communicate nor speak, with anyone. As soon as my conditions improved, I was led back to the secret prison and then to the general ward of Hamedan’s main female prison.”

Remembering the harsh treatment she made to suffer in prison, Arezoo told the FCNN reporter that, “Just to put an innocent woman in solitary is in itself a severe form of torture. They did not inflict any physical torture on my body, but did not for a second stop their psychological tortures.”

Arezoo went on to say: “They ridiculed and debased me at every opportunity. Whenever I spoke of my Christian beliefs they imitated, ridiculed, and laughed at me. Well aware of my past life, they used it to crush me psychologically and reduce me to confessing to what they demanded. But I had learnt that reminders of a sinful past is Satanic, and so their attacks did not have any effect on my resolve to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and to reconcile myself to the fact that He Will protect His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who upon the Cross, took our sins unto Himself, is standing right by me — Alive, Comforting, and Protective — proving their falsehood.

She was asked if she was ever afraid?

Arezoo replied: “They tried very hard to frighten me, and I knew the situation was critical and felt my life in danger, so I naturally was terrified; but my belief in Jesus, and witnessing God’s work in my life helped me overcome their threats and not to allow fear overpowering me.”

Fear and Hope

Remembering his imprisonment in the hands of the State Security agents of the Islamic Republic, Arash Kermajani told the FCNN: “The first few days were the most difficult, I was afraid of what may happen to Arezoo and prayed for her all the time, asking my Lord to protect and save her. Then He gave me His calm and assurance concerning her fate and I was able to accept His decision in humility; I realized that God’s power is far greater than my fears. From then on my mind was at peace and I could clearly see the hand of God protecting us.”

Talking about the prison guards, Arash said: “I was under constant pressure to confess to have been helping foreigners against my country; my Christian beliefs were questioned and it was denigrated to the level of childish thoughts and a passing trend. To tell you the truth, there was a full-scale war going on inside those prison walls. But their efforts were for naught, none of the guards nor were agents of the Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Republic of any consequence. I was dealing vital blows to the heart of the enemy and was battling Satan with the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Explaining the reasons for their release from prison, Arash said: “The fact is that they had no excuse to detain us in the first place, and we have done absolutely nothing to warrant any punishment, and they knew it well. While in prison we actually heard that we have been accused of being ‘ideological thieves and members of a Zionist group opposing the Islamic Regime.’

“There was no substance to these spurious claims, and in no way was it possible to connect us to anything as their claimed. My wife and I are both from dysfunctional families and background. We have been directly touched and saved by Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has turned our lives around. For this reason, and to thank God for his deliverance, we only spoke of our own personal experiences with Jesus Christ to people and especially other social victims. After eight months I guess they realized they were wrong about us, and caught on the fact that we are but simple witnesses to Christ.”

Threats and Escape from the Islamic Republic

Speaking about their freedom and eventual escape from the Islamic Republic, Arash Kermajani stated: “Without any prior notice we were simply told to get out, nor were our families informed; nobody was aware of our sudden freedom.

“Coming out of the prison, which is some distance from the city of Hamedan, we were forced to move a long way before we reached the main road.”

He added: “Mrs. Sonia Keshish Avanesian, Arezoo, and I got in a hired car and as it started to move, three motorcycles with pylon riders surrounded the car and rode some distance alongside the car screaming obscenities and throwing bricks at the car. All the way to Tehran we feared for our safety and lives.”

Talking about their flight from the Islamic Republic, Arash said: “To tell you the truth, from the moment we got out of the prison gates we never felt safe, actually quite the opposite. We feared attack by Islamic vigilantes and Agents of the Islamic Regime. All venues of work and employment were closed to us and we were constantly under surveillance; so we decided to leave the country for our own safety and seek refuge elsewhere.”

Arezoo and Arash are now in one of the neighboring countries awaiting relocation by the UNHCR. They wished not to have been forced to leave the country of their birth, but pray to be able to serve the Lord wherever they are being sent to.

CAIRO, EGYPT (ANS) — Egypt’s Military Prosecutor decided on November 3 to continue the detention of 34 Coptic Christians for another 15 days, pending investigations on charges of inciting violence, carrying arms and insulting the armed forces during the October 9 Maspero Massacre, which claimed the lives of 27 Christians and injured 329. The court session was attended by more than twenty defense lawyers. The case was adjourned to November 18.

Egyptian journalist Mary Abdelmassih, writing for AINA — the Assyrian International News Agency, says that according to defense lawyers, most of the detainees were arrested after October 9, and some were not even at the Maspero protest and were just collected from the streets for “being a Christian.”

According to AINA, three of them were teens under 16 years old and another had an operation to extract a bullet from his jaw and was chained to his bed in hospital, said defense lawyer Ibrahim Edward. “After the operation he was sent straight to prison where he cannot eat without feeding tubes, so he lives on juices.”

AINA says prominent activist Alaa Abdel-Fatah, who criticized the army for the Maspero Massacre, was arrested on October 30, charged with inciting violence, seizing military equipment, and vandalizing military property. He refused to answer questions from the military prosecutors “in a case where the military is accused of committing a massacre when their APCs ran over peaceful protesters in front of Maspero on Oct. 9,” his lawyer Ahmed Seif Al-Islam, former director of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, is quoted as saying.

AINA states that Abdel-Fatah also played a big role in convincing the families of the Maspero Coptic victims to agree to have the bodies of their relatives autopsied in order to have proof that the military caused their death.

AINA reports that two days ago, Mikhail Naguib, a Copt, was arrested at his home by the military and accused of stealing a machine gun and using it to kill Copts in Maspero on October 9.

According to the AINA report, the military prosecutors claimed that the gun, a type used by the army, was stolen from one of the APCs at Maspero. The army said that a taxi driver who brought Naguib on that night from Maspero to his home in the run-down area of Sharabia witnessed that he had a gun bundled in a plastic bag with him.

In an interview aired on the “The Way” Christian TV, Michael’s father said the army and police found nothing at home, and that they beat his son and took him away in his underwear.

AINA reports that Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization, said that this latest arrest and these extremely serious accusations raises questions about the intentions of the army. He wondered about the evidence the military has regarding these charges, and whether with this arrest the real culprits will not be brought to justice.

Families of detainees appeared in an interview with Coptic Channel CTV and told how their sons and husbands were arrested, AINA said.

In its report, AINA says that Ms. Magda, mother of Mina Talaat, said that her son did not attend the Maspero protest but was arrested after the violence at 8:30 in one of the roads leading to Maspero. “Mina was stopped by a soldier, who called a group of 20 people to come quickly, as he had found a Christian. The group beat Mina with short leather batons until his jaw was broken and he had to hold it back with his hand. He also had wounds in the head requiring 12 stitches,” she said

According to the AINA report, Mina told his mother on her first visit that he hid under an armored personnel carrier, but was dragged out and taken to a room on the third floor of the TV building, together with other Copts, and they were beaten until 8 AM. He was then taken to el-Kobah Military Hospital where he was chained to his bed. She said that Mina had a large tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his arm and “the soldier was so angry about that he wanted to shoot him.”

Ms. Mariam, wife of Mr. Amin Mouneer Ayad, who was at work and was dropped off by his company’s bus near Maspero after 11:00, said that a soldier asked her husband if he was a Christian and saw the tattooed cross on his wrist, then took him away to a room all covered in blood. After taking his money and cell phone, the soldiers beat him until he lost consciousness. “I did not recognize him at hospital,” said his wife. “His eyes were so swollen that when he cried no tears were flowing.”

The Al-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture said on its Facebook page that Mr. Amthal Mahmoud Abdel-Fattah, a Muslim arrested at Maspero by the military, was said by his mother to be mentally handicapped. Military prosecutors transferred him to Abbassiya mental hospital, which decided to keep him “until he comes back to his senses,” as per the hospital report.

“To arrest the victims and not the assailants shows the extent of persecution and humiliation the Copts are experiencing,” said Medhat Kelada, head of the Union of Coptic Organizations in Europe. “If there is any justice, the military prosecution should instead investigate the crimes committed by the military police.”

AINA also reported that a list of suspects to be questioned by the military prosecutors with regards to the Maspero violence was published by the media, which included clergy, in addition to political movements like the Maspero Coptic Youth Union, Copts Without Borders and April 6. It also included the deceased Coptic protester Mina Danial, known from the January 25 Tahrir protests, who died in the Maspero Massacre from gun shots.

AINA further reported that Father Filopateer was interrogated by the prosecution on October 26 and he completely refused to cooperate with the military investigation because he is a civilian, and because it is biased and is part of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with whom “.we are direct opponents in this case. I accused the SCAF, Field Marshal Tantawi and Brigadier Badeen, head of military police of being directly responsible for the Maspero Massacre.” He said that the SCAF was fishing for incriminating evidence.

AINA also said Father Mattias Nasr went to the military prosecutor on October 20. He said that he did not expect to be accused, wondering how can a victim become a culprit? He described the investigations as a sort counterbalance to what was unveiled in the conference held on October 20 by the Maspero Coptic Youth Union. The conference accused the military of murdering the demonstrators through video footage and witnesses.

Human Rights groups have criticized the ongoing arrests, denounced military trials for civilians, and called for the transfer of the investigation of the case from military to civilian prosecutors.

Joe Stork, Deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, said “The military cannot investigate itself with any credibility. This had been an essentially peaceful protest until the military used excessive force and military vehicles ran over protesters. The only hope for justice for the victims is an independent civilian-led investigation that the army fully cooperates with and cannot control and that leads to the prosecution of those responsible.”

Activist Mark Ebeid, who attended the Maspero protest, said: “They are arresting Christians and levying accusation at them, most of which are really absurd, in an attempt to implicate them in the killings,” adding: “The Junta is trying to justify the impossible, which is putting the blame on someone else. We all witnessed the killings with our own eyes on that bloody Sunday.”