A retired American pastor has been arrested by security forces after peacefully protesting outside Evin Prison against the arbitrary detention of Iranian Christians and increased pressure on the Church in the country.

Eddie Romero live-streamed today’s protest on his website, using a hidden camera and microphone. But the recording was cut off during his arrest and since then there has been no news of the pastor.

The pastor had said he was seeking to raise awareness of the pressure on Christians in Iran and to call for the release of four Iranian Christians: Farshid Fathi, Saeed Abedini, Mostafa Bordbar and Alireza Seyyedian.

Pastor Romero also called for the release of imprisoned human rights lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, who defended Christians including Yousef Nadarkhani.

Over 40 Christians are currently detained in Iranian prisons due to their religious activities, labelled “actions against national security” and “propaganda against the regime”. At least seven of them, including Farshid Fathi, Saeed Abedini, Mostafa Bordbar and Alireza Seyyedian, are in Evin Prison.

Farshid and Alireza, arrested in the winter of 2010, are serving six-year sentences, Saeed eight, and Mostafa ten. They are in Ward 350.

Also detained in Evin Prison are Maryam Naghash Zargaran, who began serving a four-year sentence in July, and Ebrahim Firouzi and Sevada Aghasar, who were arrested in June and have been held for interrogations in Ward 209 of the prison.

Pastor Romero was the pastor of a Californian church before his retirement, and now lectures in philosophy.

His protest comes as negotiations continue between Iran and the international community over its nuclear programme.

Pastor Romero had previously stated that the purpose of his protest was to remind the Iranian government of its international human rights obligations, and in particular for respect of the right to freedom of religion and belief, as enshrined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“The release of unjustly imprisoned Iranian Christians, as well as respect for legal and international obligations to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief, are demands that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot easily ignore at this critical socio-political moment,” says Article18’s Advocacy Director, Mansour Borji. “Despite the promises made about easing the pressure against religious minorities, Farsi-speaking Christians are still under pressure and in recent months several have been handed very severe sentences.”