IRAN (ANS) — Five Iranian Christians were sentenced on March 8 to one year’s imprisonment for “Crimes against the Islamic Order.” Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) www.csw.org.uk says Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi Furutan, Mohammad Beliad, Parviz Khalaj and Nazly Beliad, all members of the Church of Iran, a Jesus-Only Pentecostal denomination, were found guilty by the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz. They have 20 days to appeal the sentence. CSW reports the five men were arrested last June, but released on February 13 after posting high bail payments. They had spent nearly eight months in prison in Shiraz on charges of apostasy, political meetings, blasphemy and crimes against the Islamic Order. However, four of the charges were dropped during the trial. A source close to the defendants revealed that in the period between his arrest and late November 2010, 33-year old Pastor Sadegh-Khanjani was held in solitary confinement and given access to his attorney only once. CSW said: “His health suffered due to extremely unhygienic conditions and the infliction of deliberate harm.” >>>
