March 21, 2012
An Iranian court has agreed to temporarily release on a large sum of bail three Christian converts who were imprisoned for 36 days in Shiraz, ASSIST News Service reports. The three detainees -- one a 17-year-old -- were each asked by the Revolutionary Court to pay bail in the amount of 100,000,000 Toman (approximately US$100,000) each, and were temporarily released March 14. They were among many Christians arrested in Shiraz following a raid by authorities on the home of a Christian convert who hosted church gatherings; the court refused to release on bail the rest of the detainees, instead transferring them to different prisons, separating them and throwing them "into the worst ward[s] where murderers and thieves are held." Sources report their trials might be held sometime in April, and no precise information is available on their current condition.