An Iranian court has ruled that the adopted daughter of an Iranian Christian couple be taken from them because they are "not fit" to be her parents.

Although declared on July 19, the ruling has only recently come to light after reports revealed that Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi's appeal was rejected on September 22, Voice of the Martyrs reports.

The court further ruled that since Lydia's birth parentage is unknown, she is to be considered a Muslim and thus must be raised by Muslim parents. It is expected that Lydia will be returned to the orphanage.

The Christian couple adopted Lydia from an Iranian orphanage in February 2019. However, Sam and Maryam were among eight Christians who were arrested for their faith in July of that year.

Sam was sentenced to one year in prison, followed by two years of exile. Maryam, a nurse, was banned for life from working in the public sector. The recent rulings are currently under appeal.

The couple is asking for prayer as they appeal the rulings.

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This report originally appeared at VOTM.