According to the FCNN website yet another Christian has been languishing in prison for forty days, not for being an activist, but simply for his faith in Christ. On 29th April 2010 security agents arrested 29 year old chemistry graduate, Ali Golchin, at his home in Veramin, south east of Tehran. After confiscating many of his personal belongings they then took him to an unknown location. For over a month Ali’s family were not allowed to visit, and his wife was told she would have to deny Christ to take up the case in the courts. After constant petitioning Ali’s father was allowed to visit his son on June 17th – for ten minutes. Ali had lost a lot of weight, and was clearly in pain. He is being punished – but no official charge has been made. This would indicate his suffering is solely due to the fact he has faith in Jesus Christ.             It is surely time for those behind this policy of intimidating Christians to read some Tertullian (160-220 AD). This brilliant writer from Carthage spelt out, with some humour, how the Roman policy of persecuting Christians was impractical, "The Christians to the lion!" What, all of them? To a single lion?’ And that it was a policy doomed to back-fire – ‘The more you mow us (Christians) down, the more numerous we become. The blood of the martyrs is the seed (of the church).’ Christians certainly did become more numerous and by the early fourth century most of the senior leaders of the Roman Empire saw persecution as being a total failure. In 313 AD Constantine issued an edict of toleration.             Tertullian has always been proved right. For the last two thousand years no state has ever managed to sustain a policy of persecution against the church, despite the most horrific barbarity meted out to innocent Christians. Let’s hope some sensible people in Tehran dust off their copies of Tertullian and heed his advice. Pray for Immediate release of Ali Golchin Comfort for his family Reversal of bankrupt intimidation policy