TEHRAM, IRAN (ANS) -- An Iranian Christian believer is being held in Iran's notorious Evin prison solely for owning a Bible.

This was revealed by the father of Ali Golchin, in a telephone conversation with Voice of America (VOA) radio.

Ali's father told the radio network that the only reason his son is in prison is because there was a New Testament found in their house, and he is surprised that owning a Gospel would constitute such as serious crime.
 

Ali Golchin has been held without charge for two months. (FCNN Photo).

According to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), Ali Golchin, a 29- year-old graduate of analytical chemistry, was arrested in the town of Varamin, 35 km South East of Tehran, and has been in solitary confinement for over two months. Ali is a Farsi-speaking Christian and a Christian worker in a local church.

FCNN says that Ali has been subjected to harsh and long interrogations during this time. Moreover, Ali's family has been threatened by government authorities and warned not to retain a lawyer or contact any news organizations. Ali has not been charged with any crimes as of yet.

Up until recently the news of Ali's arrest and on-going imprisonment was published and relayed to the English-speaking news media by FCNN, which has caused strong reaction worldwide.

Following the news of Ali's arrest and imprisonment, the Voice of America (VOA) conducted a telephone interview with Ali's father, Mohsen Golchin.

In an English translation provided by FCNN, the representative of VOA, at the beginning of the interview, and relying upon the existing information provided by FCNN, starts the interview by asking Mr. Golchin about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of his son.

"The date of my son's arrest of was April 29, 2010. The reason for his arrest was the discovery of a New Testament in the basement of our house. For this reason they arrested my son. I am a Christian and my son has been born in a Christian family. I want to know why this is a crime to have a New Testament in the basement of our house. I don't know...So the government agents came to our house and searched it, and not only took away the New Testament, but many of my personal books were also confiscated," Mr. Golchin said.

During the interview, Mr.Golchin also speaks of his only visit with his son in prison after 80 days.

"The only news I have of my son is that he is suffering from loneliness and is still being kept away from the prison's general population in a solitary cell. During this time I was allowed to visit him for about 10-15 minutes and this permission was secured after extensive efforts and finally obtaining a letter from the Prosecutor's office," he said.

The VOA interviewer continued his interview by asking Mr. Golchin, What did your son say about his condition in the prison?"

"My son was not able to speak much and freely during the visit. He only said that he is going insane from loneliness and his blood pressure has gone up and his stomach pain was so bad that the prison guards had to take him to the prison infirmary," Mr. Golchin said.

The VOA interviewer then asked if owning or possessing a Bible is considered a crime in Iran?

Mr. Golchin replied by saying, "I don't know whether possession of a Bible is considered crime in Iran, but the judicial authorities accused us of attempting to convert Muslims by distributing Bibles, which is considered a crime. I told the authorities that these Bibles were not for the purpose of going into the streets and distributing them to people in the streets. These Bibles were stored for the purpose of distributing them to our church members only. My son has been active in his church."

The VOA interviewer went on by asking, "Does your son have legal representation?"

Mr. Golchin replied, "My son has not been charged with any crimes yet and we are unaware of the content of his file. We don't even know how long he will be kept in prison. I have spoken with a few lawyers. They have advised me to write several letters to various leaders within the Islamic republic government. I have already written and sent these letters, but so far have not received any responses."

The VOA Interviewer then asked, "Has your son been formally arraigned?"

"No! My son has not been formally charged with anything yet and meanwhile, he has been subjected to harsh interrogations several times," replied Mr. Golchin.

At the conclusion of this interview the host of the Farsi-language service of Voice of America asked Mr. Golchin, "What is your expectation from the Minister of Justice?"

Mr. Golchin said, "All I ask of him is to put himself in our shoes (to realize in how much of a bad situation we are in). My son is innocent. He has not been involved in anything political or has never been a social agitator or done anything illegal. He is an educated and quiet guy and everyone in our neighborhood loves him. Let the Minister of Justice imagine that my son is his son. Our faith is considered one of the officially sanctioned religions of Iran and all we want is tolerance and understanding."

Mr. Golchin went on to say: "We are hoping that the justice minister would react to this matter favorably and do something positive. We have visited the offices of many government officials, but none have received us or even allowed us to enter their offices. So we have not had any access to anyone to present our case. But, we are hoping that with this interview the judicial authorities would take notice of us and show mercy to my son and release him."

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649,at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Chief Reporter