A new petition to the U.S. Senate seeks help to free Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh, two Iranian women who have been jailed for being Christian.

The petition cites the “clear violation of globally recognized principles of freedom of religion and conscience” and argues Iranian leaders have made “numerous public claims Šthat they represent a just government.”

It states:

We, the undersigned, whether conservative or liberal, right-wing or left-wing, Christian or Muslim, American, Iranian and righteous people from all across the world, all who agree that human rights, women’s rights, freedom of religion, conscience and a value for all human life are universal principles demand of the Iranian government to release Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh immediately without charges.

WND reported earlier when the women, in a display of raw courage, told an Iranian government prosecutor they not only are Christian, but it is up to God to whom He talks.

Rustampoor, 27, and Amirizadeh, 30, have been held in Iran’s prison system since March 5, when they were taken into custody because of their faith.

According to a report from the Christian ministry Elam, during a hearing, the women dramatically refused to deny their Christian faith.

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They explained that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit.

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“It is impossible for God to speak with humans,” a prosecutor, identified only by the single name of Haddad, stated.

“Are you questioning whether God is almighty?” Amirizadeh asked him.

To which Haddad then replied. “You are not worthy for God to speak to you.”

“It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy,” she said.

Eventually Haddad instructed the women to go back to their prison cells and think about their options, and to return to court when they were ready to comply.

“We have already done our thinking,” the woman said, according to Elam, a ministry founded in 1988 by senior Iranian church leaders with a vision to serve the growing Iranian Christian community.

The ministry later reported that the women’s lawyer confirmed his clients “are not prepared to lie about their faith under any condition.”

The women, who have been increasingly ill in prison because they lack proper medical care, have been told by prosecutors they will be executed as “apostates,” solely because of their Christian faith, the petition states.

Author and petition organizer Joel Richardson, whose “The Islamic Antichrist” exposes Western Christians to Muslim traditions and beliefs, told WND he is supporting the petition to bring attention to the women’s plight.

“I just want to bring this to the forefront of everyone’s attention,” he said. “I’m hoping we can get people from across the political spectrum involved. If not, it only reveals their hypocrisy about a fundamental human rights issue.”

According to an Elam ministry statement on the special Free Them website set up to publicize the case, testimony of the two “continues to spread across the world.

“Their unwavering faith has challenged countless believers. Because of Maryam and Marzieh’s example, many Iranian Christians have become even more courageous as they follow Jesus in a hostile environment,” the ministry said.

“Maryam and Marzieh are aware that Christians all over the world are praying for them. They are encouraged to realize they have not been forgotten, and they have a message for you:

“Thank you for praying for us. We are humbled and strengthened by your prayers and we are determined to remain faithful to Jesus even unto death.”

Richardson told WND he is happy to help in any way he can.

“I’m entirely open to travel Tehran to talk to somebody about this,” he said.

Richardson’s book makes the case that the biblical Antichrist is one and the same as the Quran’s Muslim Mahdi, an expected one in that religion.

Richardson is the co-author with Walid Shoebat of “God’s War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible” and co-editor of “Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out.” “The Islamic Antichrist” is published by WND Books and is available autographed in the WND Superstore.

On a blog for the Voice of the Martyrs, there was a suggestion for prayer for the two.

Under Islamic law, the penalty for apostasy is death. According to reports about the punishment system within Iran, for women the execution often is preceded by rape.

Reports say both women have been subjected to solitary confinement as well as extended interrogations already, with health problems resulting.