Pastor Farhad Sabokroh and his co-workers Davoud Alijani and Naser Zamen-Dezfuli (pictured) from the Assemblies of God church in Ahwaz have been in custody in an unknown location since 23 December 2011.

On that day, the security authorities raided the church which is located in Khuzestan Province, 900 km south west of Tehran, and arrested the entire congregation. Most detainees were released a few hours later, but they are not allowed to leave Ahwaz and are forbidden to disclose details of the arrests, having been warned that if they contact the media they will all be arrested again. Families of those still detained have been told that if they contact the international media their loved ones may disappear forever.

Pastor Farhad Sabokroh, Davoud Alijani and Naser Zamen-Dezfuli are still in custody of the Ministry of Intelligence. Reports that they were transferred to Karoon Prison in the Sepidar region of Ahwaz for further interrogations have not been confirmed by the authorities. They were not allowed to see a lawyer or their families and were only allowed to make limited phone calls under the watch of interrogators.

Pastor Sabokroh's wife, Shahnaz Jeizan, was arrested with the other church members and was held until 1 January 2012, when she was released on bail. She has asked the security authorities several times for permission to visit her husband or speak to him by telephone, but they have refused.

An eyewitness to the raid said that a large number of men, described as agents of the State Security of the Islamic Republic, dressed in hoods and civilian clothing and driving unmarked cars and vans, surrounded the church. They blocked all approach roads, closed nearby shops and stormed the church at 11.00 am. No legal documents for the raid were produced.

The hooded agents, screaming obscenities, took out members of the congregation, including crying children and terrified mothers. The Christians were forced on top of each other into the waiting vans, which were driven away at high speed. The detainees were brought to an unidentified school, where a well-organised reception produced interrogation forms. Classrooms had been turned into holding cells, assigned and labelled for male and female detainees, with separate rooms for boys and girls.

During long, gruelling interrogations, the detainees were forced to sign confessional forms and also pledges of non-activity and of agreement not to contact the media. Most were allowed home then, minus their mobile phones, laptops and other personal possessions.

The authority and resources to carry out such a large-scale raid and to commandeer a school are only available to State Security organs, yet the authorities in Ahwaz claim to be unaware of the raid. There is no legal justification for the attack, as the Assemblies of God church of Ahwaz is one of the official churches of Iran, which continued its activities after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, although the church building was confiscated and turned over to Islamic Revolutionary Foundation. Since then, the pastor's house has been the place of worship.

Members of the church fear that Davoud Alijani and Naser Zamen-Dezfuli may be charged with apostasy (which in Iran carries the death sentence) as they were born into Muslim families, and became Christians many years ago. The pastor and his wife were not Muslims before they became Christians and cannot be charged with apostasy; they were both originally members of the Mandaean minority. The ancient Mandaean faith, which pre-dates Islam, holds that Adam received the first teaching from God and that John the Baptist was the last great teacher. Many Mandaeans live near Ahvaz, and as their faith is not recognised by the Islamic Regime its followers face great difficulties in Iran. (FCNN, Mohabat News)