Haik Hovsepian Mehr
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Haik Hovsepian Mehr (killed January, 1994), was an Iranian bishop, born in Tehran.
He was the Bishop of the Jamiat-e Rabbani church (part of the Assemblies of God church movement) until his death.
While Armenian by ethnicity, he had a strong motivation to evangelise Iranian Muslims. He was an outspoken Christian apologist and evangelist and a gifted musician. Many of his sermons and songs are still available on the Internet.
He was responsible for initiating increased collaboration between evangelical churches within Iran after the Iranian Revolution. He was the Chairman of the Council of Protestant Ministers of Iran.
He was killed after protesting about the treatment of his friend and colleague Mehdi Dibaj at the hands of the Iranian government. While the government initially denied all involvement in his death and even charged two members of the Mujahideen al-Khalq with his murder, Iranian Christians and independent observers claimed that he was murdered for his beliefs and outspokeness by Iranian security personnel. This view was confirmed in 2001, when the murder was confirmed to be a part of the series of political murders of authors and activists ordered by Saeed Emami, then Vice Minister at the Ministry of Intelligence, exposure of which shook the Iranian political establishment.
He was succeeded by his brother Edvard Hovsepian Mehr in his role as Bishop of the Jammiat-e Rabbani Church.