Shahin Lahouti is well known for his generous heart – he’s played concerts for autistic children, and regularly performs for charity. So despite the dangers he knew he faced after becoming a Christian last year, he decided to stay in Iran so he could continue helping people through his music.
But last October everything changed. Police raided a prayer meeting and arrested Shahin along with seven other Christians, on trumped up political charges. This is a cover up for the fact that they were really arrested because of their conversion to Christianity.
While the others were released after making extortionate bail payments, and have appealed their unjust sentences, Shahin is still in jail, serving a two and a half year sentence for “action against national security”.
But the political wind may be changing in Iran – the new president, Hassan Rouhani, has promised to free political prisoners like Shahin. We need to show Iran that the world is watching.
