Hovsepian Mehr, born on January 6, 1945, was an Iranian-Armenian priest, bishop of the Assemblies of God churches in Iran, and a human rights activist in the field of religious freedom. He was particularly known for his efforts to overturn the death sentence and secure the release of Pastor Mehdi Dibaj, and ultimately, his name was added to the list of serial killings. On January 19, 1994 (30 Dey 1372), at the age of 49, he was abducted by the Ministry of Intelligence and killed with 26 stab wounds. His wife, Takoush Hovsepian, and their three sons, Joseph, Gilbert, and Andre, and their daughter, Rebecca, were taken into complete silence for eleven days and made many efforts to find him. After eleven days, his bloody body was identified at the coroner’s office by one of his sons, Joseph. In this issue, the monthly

When your father was murdered, you were just a twenty-year-old and you went to the forensic medicine to identify him who had been missing for 11 days. From the moment you faced your father’s body, which had been stabbed 26 times, and had to inform your anxious and worried family.

The truth is that when I went to the forensic medicine, I was almost unaware of what was supposed to happen. If we go back a few hours, I have to say that the situation and conditions of me and my family were such that we expected my father to still be alive and only somewhere, for example in the Ministry of Intelligence, being interrogated or imprisoned. His martyrdom or death had never crossed our minds. This may have had something to do with the mindset of the Iranian Church at the time and the faith that we had, believing that God takes care of his servants and children and does not allow a hair to fall from their heads. In fact, I can say that this was my own belief as well and it never crossed my mind that the government could play with the Protestant churches in Iran! Therefore, with this mindset, I decided to go to the forensic medicine alone and give my family peace of mind that this was just a formality; just an invitation for us to

The suffering that activists endure due to their activities under direct pressure from the government, is the dominant subject of writings and media productions, while less attention is paid to the hardships and difficulties imposed on their family members. How did the days and early years after your father’s death and seeing his bloody body pass without any prior preparation?

It’s an interesting question. I think this question has been asked less by us and maybe even we ourselves have asked it less. Because usually when we lose something, unconsciously we all try to make up for that lack and emptiness so that life can move forward. Now, alongside the responsibilities we already have, we have to take on new responsibilities in these new circumstances. So, maybe there is less time for each person to deeply reflect on their own life and see how such an event can have a profound impact on their life.

In my opinion, there is a common aspect between our family and many other families, martyrs and people who have experienced some kind of injustice or have had such dramatic experiences in their lives, and that is that these events and experiences cannot be forgotten. Maybe that’s why even after twenty-seven years, whenever I talk about some of these memories, it feels like I’m talking about yesterday. I think we all automatically try to keep the things we lose so close

Despite being the eldest son of the family, after your father’s murder, responsibilities were placed on your shoulders; at least emotional support for your two younger brothers. How difficult was this situation for you?

It is true. From the very first days, alongside the loss of my father and being away from him, perhaps one of my biggest concerns was how my little brother, who was ten years old, would grow up or how we could continue our lives financially. These were all real issues that I had to face, take action, change myself to some extent, and be willing to take on greater responsibilities. And that’s what happened. Today, people see me and say we never thought that the Joseph we knew in our youth would become the Joseph we see today. The thing that helped us not to be burdened with so much weight on our shoulders that it would knock us down to the ground was that many other people helped us and were with us on this path. Many of my brothers played the role of an older brother or father for me; and also for my brothers, my sister, and my mother. We had many brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. This help and peace

Aside from the difficulty of coping with the emotional and psychological impact of your father’s murder, were there any other issues related to losing him that have intensified your grief and distress?

There was nothing specific that caused our grief to intensify, but there were certainly new experiences as a result of my father’s martyrdom that we had to face. The biggest of these was the feeling of hatred and forgiveness; hatred towards the killers and the system that brutally took my father’s life and wanted to shift the blame onto others. Despite all the evidence proving that the government was responsible for my father’s murder, we were filled with hatred towards our enemies to the point where it could have made us sick, and we knew that this was not what God wanted from us. In the years leading up to my father’s martyrdom, we had read and heard in sermons and the word of God that He gives us the strength to forgive. So at that time, we had to put these teachings into practice more in our lives. Talking about forgiveness, letting go, and forgetting is difficult, but in the months after my father’s martyrdom, we brought this issue to God’s presence

It is possible that the general perception is that with the passage of many years, similar experiences are largely healed and even forgotten. What is your opinion on this after twenty-seven years since the tragic murder of your father? What goes through your mind and heart in this regard?

Well, time heals the wounds and at the same time, it helps a person find more solutions to deal with new situations and get used to them. But I think all of us, as humans, usually have a subconscious reaction towards ourselves when something happens to us. For example, if someone is sick and in the hospital, all the attention is focused on that person, even if they are unconscious for hours or days and in a coma. Unfortunately, we often forget about the people who are taking care of that person day and night, enduring sleepless nights, waiting for them to wake up, and still having to take care of different aspects of life and keep it going. But these people are often overlooked.

People who are oppressed or martyred in the Iranian church are heroes in any case. These people have paid the highest price, their lives, for the sake of God and have been honored with the title of martyrdom; an honor that is incomparable in the eyes of God. When

Thank you for the time you have given to the peace line.