Vain attempts by the family to find out why Ramtin Soodmand was kidnapped and where he is being held. Security officials respond to their questions with threats.

Teheran (AsiaNews) – Two weeks on there is still no news of an imprisoned Iranian Protestant Christian, or why he was arrested.  This is the dramatic story of Ramtin Soodmand, arrested 15 days ago by security officials and intelligence officers in Mashhad, on Iran’s north east border with Turkmenistan.

The Iranian exile website Rooz reports that since the man’s arrest his family and friends have repeatedly and in vain sought news of Ramtin’s whereabouts. What’s more; their attempts to contact officers from the Ministry for Security to find out why he was arrested and where he is being held have not only failed to produce results, they have also provoked threats of “consequences” for them and for Ramtin.

According to the small and increasingly concerned Iranian Christian community – estimated to count 60 thousand – one week before Soodmand’s arrest, another Christian, Iman Rachidi was arrested in the very same city. Since then there has been no news either of the fate of the 18 year old.

• iran
• christian
• protestant
• religious
• freedom
• arrest
• prison
• threats
• security
• officials