“Currently we know of eight Iranian Christians still imprisoned for their faith. Six have spent several months in jail: Farshid Fathi, Vahik Abrahamian, Abrahim Firouzi, Masoud Delijani, Noorollah Ghabitzadeh and Yousef Naderkhani – who was sentenced to death.

There has been very little news of the well-being of the prisoners, though there are unconfirmed reports of ill-health, solitary confinement and continued mistreatment. This silence increases the stress on the family and supporters of the imprisoned.

Two Azeri Christians, Vahid Rofegar and Reza Khanamoei, were arrested on July 15th near the city of Kalibar and are now in prison. These arrests might be linked to complaints about the spread of Christianity in Azerbaijan.

The majority of the nearly 300 believers arrested over the last year have been released, either on bail or with severe warnings and threats against any further Christian activity.

Please pray for news from the prisons, for families of the persecuted, and wisdom for those advocating for the persecuted.

Though there is silence from the prisons, the cries of the people of Iran ring loud and clear as the message of the Gospel continues to have an impact across the nation…Despite the increase in persecution, we have seen a growing thirst for the Word of God in 2011. The more we have distributed the New Testament, the more popular it seems to have become. The more programs we produce for TV, the greater the response, and the more people we train for ministry, the faster the church grows.

Please pray that the cries of the people of Iran will be heard, and that the Holy Spirit will touch every broken life.”