Maryam Naghash Zargaran, an Iranian who converted to Christianity, has been released after serving her 4 year prison sentence at Tehran’s Evin prison on the 1st August. She was sentenced in 2013 for violating national security after first coming to the knowledge of security forces after her involvement in “underground house churches”.
But it was her work at an orphanage with Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini that eventually got her arrested in January 2013 and she was sentenced a few months later for “propagating against the Islamic regime and collusion intended to harm national security”.
The former children’s music teacher had an existing heart condition for which she had undergone surgery some years earlier and needed regular medical check-ups. She was also suffering from other illnesses but was denied the proper medical care she needed during her time in Evin Prison. She went on hunger strike 3 times in an attempt to get the authorities to act. Her case made it into a document produced by Amnesty International entitled “Iran: Health Taken Hostage: Cruel Denial of Medical Care in Iran’s Prisons”.
Her release date was scheduled for the 28th of July and her family went to the prison only to be told that her “release permission letter” had not yet been received. It was 3 days later when she was finally released, with some calling this just another form of persecution that the authorities continue to subject Christians to.
After four long and hard years in this tough prison Maryam is now in the care of her family. It is believed that she suffered from depression due to the harsh conditions she endured in prison and we trust that the Lord will heal, strengthen, protect and guide her in the days to come.
Louise Carter
