Captive in Iran: A Remarkable True Story of Hope and Triumph amid the Horror of

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh were born into Muslim families in Iran. They met while studying Christian theology in Turkey in 2005, and realized they had become Christians at about the same time six years earlier. Deciding to join forces, they returned to Iran and began a program of mission outreach. Over the next two years, they handed out New Testaments in Tehran and other cities. They started two house churches in their apartment, one for young people and another for prostitutes. They extended their ministry with mission trips to India, South Korea, and Turkey.In 2009, Maryam and Marziyeh were arrested in Tehran for promoting Christianity—a capital crime in Iran—and imprisoned for 259 days in the city's notorious Evin Prison. The official charges they received were apostasy, anti-government activity, and blasphemy for which they were sentenced to execution by hanging. As many around the world prayed for their freedom, and as a result of international lobbying, Maryam and Marziyeh were released in 2009 and cleared of all charges the following year. They consider it an honor to have experienced a little of Christ's suffering by being imprisoned in His name. After their release, they emigrated to the United States.

Locked away, but not silenced . . .
Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh knew they were putting their lives on the line. Though Islamic laws in Iran forbade them from sharing their Christian beliefs, in three years they’d covertly put New Testaments into the hands of twenty thousand of their countrymen. They’d started two secret house churches, including one for prostitutes―many of them women who had been abandoned by their husbands and had no other way to support themselves and their children. Maryam and Marziyeh had almost been caught many times . . . it seemed like divine intervention when they were not.

But finally―perhaps inevitably―in 2009, the two young women were arrested and held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, a place where inmates are routinely tortured, and executions are swift and sudden. But in the face of chilling interrogations and intimidation, and risking a death sentence, something remarkable happened: Instead of succumbing to fear, they chose to take the radical―and dangerous―step of sharing their faith inside the very walls of the government stronghold that was meant to silence them.

In Captive in Iran, Maryam and Marziyeh recount how God used their 259 days in Evin Prison to bring about a miraculous reversal: shining light into one of the world’s darkest places, giving hope to those who had lost everything, and showing love to those in despair.

For all we knew, this could be our last day on earth.
“I hope you’ve been thinking carefully,” the interrogator said, nibbling on a piece of bread. “Have you?”

I wondered if he knew how hungry we were, or if he always ate in front of prisoners.

“What should we have been thinking of?” Maryam asked.

“About telling us what we want to know about you and your activities. I have checked your laptop and read all the evidence against you,” he said sternly. “You must tell us everything about people you have contact with, which organizations you work with. Otherwise, we will lock your hands and feet together and beat you until you die.

“Think about that as you prepare for your interrogation.” Pushing back abruptly from the table, he walked out.

Despite our earlier bravado, we were afraid. For all we knew, this could be our last day on earth. We held hands and prayed for strength.

If we are tortured, give us the power to stand fast.