Easter Sunday Trial of Iranian Christians Complete; Verdict Still to Come

While Christians around the world were celebrating Resurrection Sunday, 12 Iranian believers were defending themselves before a judge in the city of Rasht after being arrested for practicing their faith.

Jason DeMars, founder of Minnesota-based Present Truth Ministries, told The Christian Post on Thursday that the 12 believers are being charged with "crimes against the order" for activities like drinking alcohol while taking communion and holding illegal meetings. One part of PTM's mission is to support the persecuted church in the Middle East, and DeMars has stayed up to date on their situation by speaking with members of the Christian community in Iran.

Although they are not being charged with apostasy – a crime punishable by death in Iran – DeMars says the judge did call them "apostates" during the trial, and suggested in a recent blog post that it may have been a scare tactic used by the court. Read more