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Iranian Pastor Faces Execution for Refusing to Recant Christian Faith
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published September 28, 2011
FoxNews.com
Youcef Nadarkhani and family
(http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/World/396/223/youceffam640.jpg)
An undated photograph circulated by religious rights organizations shows Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.
An Iranian pastor who has refused to renounce his Christian faith faces execution as early as Wednesday after his sentence was upheld by an Iranian court.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who maintains he has never been a Muslim as an adult, has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ, the 11th branch of Iran's Gilan Provincial Court ruled. Iran's Supreme Court had ordered the trial court to determine whether Nadarkhani had been a Muslim prior to converting to Christianity.
The judges, according to the American Center for Law & Justice, demanded that Nadarkhani, 34, recant his Christian faith before submission of evidence. Though the judgment runs against current Iranian and international laws and is not codified in Iranian penal code, the judge stated that the court must uphold the decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom.
When asked to repent, Nadarkhani stated: "Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?"
"To the religion of your ancestors, Islam," the judge replied, according to the American Center for Law & Justice.
"I cannot," Nadarkhani said.
Nadarkhani is the latest Christian cleric to be imprisoned in Iran for his religious beliefs. According to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based organization that serves Christian churches in Iran, there was a significant increase in the number of Christians arrested solely for practicing their faith between June 2010 and January 2011. A total of 202 arrests occurred during that six-month period, including 33 people who remained in prison as of January, Elam reported.
An Assyrian evangelical pastor, Rev. Wilson Issavi, was imprisoned for 54 days for allegedly converting Muslims prior to his release in March 2010, Elam officials told FoxNews.com.
Nadarkhani, a pastor in the 400-member Church of Iran, has been held in that country's Gilan Province since October 2009, after he protested to local education authorities that his son was forced to read from the Koran at school. His wife, Fatemeh Pasandideh, was also arrested in June 2010 in an apparent attempt to pressure him to renounce his faith. She was released in October 2010, according to Amnesty International.
Nadarkhani was sentenced to death for apostasy last September based on religious writings by Iranian clerics, including Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the fact that there is no offense of "apostasy" in the nation's penal code, Amnesty International reports.
In June, the Supreme Court of Iran ruled that a lower court should re-examine procedural flaws in the case, giving local judges the power to decide whether to release, execute or retry Nadarkhani. The verdict, according to Amnesty International, includes a provision for the sentence to be overturned should Nadarkhani renounce his faith.
Elise Auerbach, an Iranian analyst for Amnesty International USA, told FoxNews.com that an execution for apostasy has not been carried out in Iran since 1990. Nadarkhani's sentence is a "clear violation of international law," she said.
"The key is to keep up the pressure and to publicize the story because it obviously outrages most people," Auerbach said. "It's part of the pattern of persecution based on religion in Iran."
Kiri Kankhwende, a spokeswoman for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights organization that specializes in religious freedom, told FoxNews.com that Nadarkhani was asked for the fourth time to renounce his faith during a hearing early Wednesday and he denied that request.
"We're waiting to hear the final outcome," she told FoxNews.com. "We're still waiting to hear what they've decided."
Kankhwende said Nadarkhani could be executed Wednesday or Thursday.
"Iran is unpredictable," she said. "We can't say when it might happen. It's a very real threat, but we can't say when exactly."
Officials at the U.S. State Department declined to comment when reached on Wednesday.Attempts to reach his attorney, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, were not successful.
House Speaker John Boehner said Nadarkhani's case is "distressing for people of every country and creed," according to a statement released on Wednesday.
"While Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith," the statement read. "This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity. I urge Iran's leaders to abandon this dark path, spare [Nadarkhani's] life, and grant him a full and unconditional release."
Father Jonathan Morris, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of New York and an analyst for Fox News Channel, said Nadarkhani's case is "unmistakable evidence" that Iran is executing Christians simply because they refuse to become Muslims.
Morris continued: "Will President Obama, and the free world, allow the United Nations to continue in its cowardly silence on this matter?"
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/28/iranian-pastor-faces-execution-for-refusing-to-recant-christian-faith/
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Iranian Pastor Faces Execution for Refusing to Recant Christian Faith
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published September 28, 2011
FoxNews.com
Youcef Nadarkhani and family
(http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/World/396/223/youceffam640.jpg)
An undated photograph circulated by religious rights organizations shows Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.
An Iranian pastor who has refused to renounce his Christian faith faces execution as early as Wednesday after his sentence was upheld by an Iranian court.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who maintains he has never been a Muslim as an adult, has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ, the 11th branch of Iran's Gilan Provincial Court ruled. Iran's Supreme Court had ordered the trial court to determine whether Nadarkhani had been a Muslim prior to converting to Christianity.
The judges, according to the American Center for Law & Justice, demanded that Nadarkhani, 34, recant his Christian faith before submission of evidence. Though the judgment runs against current Iranian and international laws and is not codified in Iranian penal code, the judge stated that the court must uphold the decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom.
When asked to repent, Nadarkhani stated: "Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?"
"To the religion of your ancestors, Islam," the judge replied, according to the American Center for Law & Justice.
"I cannot," Nadarkhani said.
Nadarkhani is the latest Christian cleric to be imprisoned in Iran for his religious beliefs. According to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based organization that serves Christian churches in Iran, there was a significant increase in the number of Christians arrested solely for practicing their faith between June 2010 and January 2011. A total of 202 arrests occurred during that six-month period, including 33 people who remained in prison as of January, Elam reported.
An Assyrian evangelical pastor, Rev. Wilson Issavi, was imprisoned for 54 days for allegedly converting Muslims prior to his release in March 2010, Elam officials told FoxNews.com.
Nadarkhani, a pastor in the 400-member Church of Iran, has been held in that country's Gilan Province since October 2009, after he protested to local education authorities that his son was forced to read from the Koran at school. His wife, Fatemeh Pasandideh, was also arrested in June 2010 in an apparent attempt to pressure him to renounce his faith. She was released in October 2010, according to Amnesty International.
Nadarkhani was sentenced to death for apostasy last September based on religious writings by Iranian clerics, including Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the fact that there is no offense of "apostasy" in the nation's penal code, Amnesty International reports.
In June, the Supreme Court of Iran ruled that a lower court should re-examine procedural flaws in the case, giving local judges the power to decide whether to release, execute or retry Nadarkhani. The verdict, according to Amnesty International, includes a provision for the sentence to be overturned should Nadarkhani renounce his faith.
Elise Auerbach, an Iranian analyst for Amnesty International USA, told FoxNews.com that an execution for apostasy has not been carried out in Iran since 1990. Nadarkhani's sentence is a "clear violation of international law," she said.
"The key is to keep up the pressure and to publicize the story because it obviously outrages most people," Auerbach said. "It's part of the pattern of persecution based on religion in Iran."
Kiri Kankhwende, a spokeswoman for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights organization that specializes in religious freedom, told FoxNews.com that Nadarkhani was asked for the fourth time to renounce his faith during a hearing early Wednesday and he denied that request.
"We're waiting to hear the final outcome," she told FoxNews.com. "We're still waiting to hear what they've decided."
Kankhwende said Nadarkhani could be executed Wednesday or Thursday.
"Iran is unpredictable," she said. "We can't say when it might happen. It's a very real threat, but we can't say when exactly."
Officials at the U.S. State Department declined to comment when reached on Wednesday.Attempts to reach his attorney, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, were not successful.
House Speaker John Boehner said Nadarkhani's case is "distressing for people of every country and creed," according to a statement released on Wednesday.
"While Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith," the statement read. "This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity. I urge Iran's leaders to abandon this dark path, spare [Nadarkhani's] life, and grant him a full and unconditional release."
Father Jonathan Morris, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of New York and an analyst for Fox News Channel, said Nadarkhani's case is "unmistakable evidence" that Iran is executing Christians simply because they refuse to become Muslims.
Morris continued: "Will President Obama, and the free world, allow the United Nations to continue in its cowardly silence on this matter?"
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/28/iranian-pastor-faces-execution-for-refusing-to-recant-christian-faith/
Religion is a plague on mankind. Imagine if there were neither Christianity nor Islam, problem solved.
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Religion is a plague on mankind. Imagine if there were neither Christianity nor Islam, problem solved.
Thank you for the insightful, original commentary.
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Thank you for the insightful, original commentary.
Yeah, it really contributes a lot to the thread. ::)
Religion of peace. ::)
Iran burned 7,000 bibles a few weeks ago, too. However, there weren't any Christians rioting and beheading UN workers. Funny that.
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Yeah, it really contributes a lot to the thread. ::)
Religion of peace. ::)
Iran burned 7,000 bibles a few weeks ago, too. However, there weren't any Christians rioting and beheading UN workers. Funny that.
Did not know that. Where was the public outcry? ::)
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Did not know that. Where was the public outcry? ::)
Why would the MSM report on that when they hate every religion but Islam?
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Why would the MSM report on that when they hate every religion but Islam?
Sure seems that way. The lack of coverage of Iran burning 7,000 Bibles compared to the frothing at the mouth over a preacher from Podunk, Florida burning a Koran is pretty striking.
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Religion is a plague on mankind. Imagine if there were neither Christianity nor Islam, problem solved.
Man would be killing each other over humanism.
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Religion is a plague on mankind. Imagine if there were neither Christianity nor Islam, problem solved.
yoooo hooo oooo, you may say that I'm a dreamer.... but I'm not the only one..... LOL...
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U.S. condemns Iranian pastor's conviction
By Dan Merica, CNN
Washington (CNN) – The White House Thursday condemned the conviction of an Iranian pastor, who may be executed in Tehran for refusing to recant his religious beliefs and convert from Christianity to Islam.
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani "has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for people," a White House spokesman said in a statement. "That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency and breaches Iran's own international obligations."
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent advisory group appointed by the president and Congress to monitor religious freedom around the world, Wednesday expressed "deep concern" for Nadarkhani, the head of a network of Christian house churches in Iran.
After four days of an appeals trial for apostasy, Nadarkhani refused to recant his beliefs, the commission said. Chairman Leonard Leo said the pastor "is being asked to recant a faith he has always had. Once again, the Iranian regime has demonstrated that it practices hypocritical barbarian practices."
While the trial is closed to the press, Leo said the commission collects information from sources in Iran and around the world.
The commission's statement also called the trial a sham and said Iran is violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a party.
"A decision to impose the death penalty would further demonstrate the Iranian authorities' utter disregard for religious freedom, and highlight Iran's continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens," the White House statement said. "We call upon the Iranian authorities to release Pastor Nadarkhani and demonstrate a commitment to basic, universal human rights, including freedom of religion."
Nadarkhani was first sentenced to death in November 2010, the commission said, and in order to avoid the death penalty, he is being asked to recant his beliefs and convert to Islam. Leo said an apostasy trial is rare in Iran; the last occurred in 1990.
Iran's claim stems from the pastor's Muslim parents. According to Leo, the court needed to verify if Nadarkhani had ever been a Muslim. In order to be given what Iran claims is the opportunity to recant his beliefs, Nadarkhani must have never been a Muslim before the age of 15, Leo said.
Because he was given the opportunity during the four-day trial, it is apparent that the Iranian court found he was never a Muslim and therefore Nadarkhani could have converted.
According to a source close to the situation within the Commission on International Religious Freedom, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, would have to sign off on the execution. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity, the source said such cases in Iran are difficult because of the lack of transparency in leaders' decision-making.
The source also said that in the past, political prisoners have had their prison time and punishment reduced by the Iranian government. Though they did not say that was guaranteed in this situation, the source indicated it was a possibility.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a right-leaning organization founded by television evangelist Pat Robertson, reported Wednesday night that Nadarkhani's death sentence had been overturned, meaning that the pastor would be receiving a lesser punishment. They sourced the claim to someone in Iran.
Those reports could not be independently verified by CNN. The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Nations failed to comment on the ruling.
Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ, said the outcry from Christians in America has been loud and sustained.
"American Christians, like never before, are engaged in this," Sekulow said. "This is evidence that Christians in America over the past decade have done a better job engaging in the persecution issue."
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/29/iranian-pastor-refuses-to-reject-religion-faces-execution/
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Right. ::)
Iranian pastor faces death for rape, not apostasy - report
By Dan Merica, CNN
updated 9:29 PM EST, Fri September 30, 2011
Washington (CNN) -- Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani will be put to death for several charges of rape and extortion, charges that differ greatly from his original sentence of apostasy, Iran's semi-official Fars News agency reported Friday.
Gholomali Rezvani, the deputy governor of Gilan province, where Nadarkhani was tried and convicted, accused Western media of twisting the real story, referring to him as a "rapist." A previous report from the news agency claimed he had committed several violent crimes, including repeated rape and extortion.
"His crime is not, as some claim, converting others to Christianity," Rezvani told Fars. "He is guilty of security-related crimes."
In a translated Iranian Supreme Court brief from 2010, however, the charge of apostasy is the only charge leveled against Nadarkhani.
"Mr. Youcef Nadarkhani, son of Byrom, 32-years old, married, born in Rasht in the state of Gilan is convicted of turning his back on Islam, the greatest religion the prophesy of Mohammad at the age of 19," reads the brief.
The brief was obtained by CNN from the American Center for Law and Justice and was translated from its original Farsi by the Confederation of Iranian Students in Washington.
It goes on to say that during the court proceeding, Nadarkhani denied the prophecy of Mohammad and the authority of Islam.
"He (Nadarkhani) has stated that he is a Christian and no longer Muslim," states the brief. "During many sessions in court with the presence of his attorney and a judge, he has been sentenced to execution by hanging according to article 8 of Tahrir -- olvasileh."
Rezvani, the official from Gilan province, confirmed that his execution is "not imminent" nor is it final.
He is a Zionist and has committed security-related crimes.
Gholomali Rezvani
Mohammadali Dadkhah, the pastor's lawyer, said through a translator that even in light of the Fars News report, he does not believe Nadarkhani will be put to death.
"The case is still in progress," Dadkhah said. "There's a 95% that he won't get the death penalty. Yes, I still believe that."
Dadkhah spoke briefly of the trial proceedings, stating that he presented documents to the court that should be convincing, including documents from Shi'ite leaders that state the crime does not warrant the possible punishment.
"This is a legal process that should take its course, and it should stand, on its own merits. It should succeed," Dadkhah said.
Nadarkhani, the leader of a network of house churches in Iran, was first convicted of apostasy in November 2010, a charge he subsequently appealed all the way to the Iranian Supreme Court. After four days of an appeals trial that started Sunday at a lower court in Gilan Province, Nadarkhani refused to recant his beliefs.
That said, Rezvani -- echoing an earlier report from Fars -- insisted that "Nadarkhani's crime and his death sentence have nothing to do with his beliefs.
"No one is executed in Iran for their choice of religion," he added. "He is a Zionist and has committed security-related crimes."
The possible execution of Nadarkhani, based on an assumption it is tied to his Christian belief, has elicited responses from the highest levels of the United States government, too.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement Friday that said the United States stands with "all Iranians against the Iranian government's hypocritical statements and actions."
The White House released a statement on Thursday, stating that Nadarkhani "has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for people."
"That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency and breaches Iran's own international obligations," reads the statement.
Leonard Leo, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, says a trial for apostasy in Iran is rare. According to him, this is the first apostasy trial since 1990.
Nadarkhani's trial and his possible execution have engaged American Christians, as well. Todd Nettleton, spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian organization that attempts to assist with persecuted and minority churches around the world, called the news of the new charges proof that international attention on the issue is working.
"They are feeling the attention, they are feeling the weight of the eyes of the world watching how they are treating this man," Nettleton said. "I am dumbfounded, though, that at this stage in the game, this is what they would trot out."
Voice of the Martyrs manages a Facebook page that has brought a lot of attention to Nadarkhani's trial. With comments updated by the minute, thousand of people have taken to Facebook to spread the word about the pastor.
In light of this news, Nettleton said the Facebook page would continue to be active.
"I think our first response will be prayer for pastor Youcef," Nettleton said. "Prayer that justice will be done and that he will remain faithful no matter that the days ahead may bring for him."
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/world/meast/iran-christian-pastor/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
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Iranian Pastor Increasingly Likely to Face Death Penalty Under New Charges
By Perry Chiaramonte
Published October 03, 2011
FoxNews.com
Imprisoned Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, originally sentenced to death for apostasy and refusing to renounce Christianity, is now in even greater danger of being put to death in light of reports in state-run media of other charges, including being a Zionist and a threat to national security.
"The charge of being a Zionist and thus a traitor is among the most serious accusations that can be made in Iran," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, or ACLJ. "Unfortunately, we know that this is the charge Iran levies to justify executing people who were actually arrested, imprisoned and tried on completely different charges."
In a ruling from the Iranian Supreme Court obtained by FoxNews.com, Nadarkhani was sentenced to execution by hanging for breaking Islamic law by conducting Christian worship and baptizing himself and others.
Nowhere in the ruling is there a mention of these new charges, which were first reported by Iranian news agency FARS.
Nadarkhani’s lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, says he has not received any of these new charges from the Supreme Court, according to the ACLJ.
“The opinions of these new charges come from the political branch. Not a single judicial figure, a prosecutor or member of the court has spoken to these new charges,” Dadkhah said through a translator.
Fox News reported last week that the pastor, who also held house church services in Iran, was facing execution after being convicted of apostasy last November.
He appealed his conviction all the way to the Iranian Supreme Court.
His appeals trial began last month in Gilan Province and he refused to renounce his religion, according to rights groups monitoring the trial.
The European Center for Law and Justice, an affiliate of the ACLJ and an non-governmental organization with consultative status at the U.N., is looking at taking action at the United Nations this week.
"We have not seen any new charges from the court," an official for the U.S. State Department said. "We continue to seek additional information."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/03/iranian-pastor-has-greater-chance-facing-death-with-new-allegations/
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Iranian Christian Pastor's Lawyer Expects Death Sentence to Be Reversed
Thursday, 06 Oct 2011 02:08 PM
By Mike Tighe
The lawyer for a Christian pastor in Iran who faces a death sentence for refusing to renounce his faith says he expects the final appeal verdict to land in his client’s favor on Saturday, even as pleas echo worldwide to save Yosef Nadarkhani from being hanged.
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, who previously had predicted that the final decision on the pastor’s appeal would come when Iran’s supreme court convenes on Oct. 10, told AFP Thursday that he expects the ruling on Saturday instead.
The lawyer also disputed rumors that the court intends to uphold the death sentence for apostasy, as well as other charges of security violations, rape, and Zionism that an Iranian official added last weekend. That was the first time such additional charges had been mentioned since the case began in 2009, and many regarded them as an effort to rationalize the death penalty.
However, Dadkhah maintains that Nadarkhani’s trial focused only on the charge of apostasy — in this case, refusing to renounce Christianity and embrace Islam. He insists that his client has persuaded judges to free him despite his repeated refusals to reject his faith.
The 34-year-old Nadarkhani, who converted to Christianity at the age of 19, was tried and convicted in December 2010. The pastor of several home congregations in a small Christian community called the Church of Iran, he has refused repeatedly to recant his faith.
Last week, he spurned the court’s ultimatum to reject Christianity during at least one of ritual three chances or face enforcement of his penalty and restated his Christian beliefs instead.
The Iranian court’s brutal sentence has propelled increasing numbers of protests, ranging from the Rev. Franklin Graham’s condemnation of the pastor’s potential fate, to statements from the White House and U.S. lawmakers, to international outrage.
“It is unfathomable to most thinking people that a person in the 21st century can be put to death simply for espousing a faith that differs from that of his nation's ruling powers. Belief cannot be prescribed or proscribed. Faith is the most basic, fundamental right of every human being.
“While this kind of religious intolerance from the Islamic government and so-called justice system in Iran [Sharia law] doesn't surprise me, the initial virtual silence of the international community does,” said Graham, who warned in a Newsmax interview in March that radical Islam endangers Christians worldwide. “A man is sentenced to be killed for the ‘crime’ of a sincere belief in Jesus Christ — a sentence in clear violation of international law. So where is the international outrage?”
House Speaker John Boehner also decried the sentence last week, saying, "I urge Iran's leaders to abandon this dark path, spare Yosef Nadarkhani's life, and grant him a full and unconditional release.
"Religious freedom is a universal human right," the Ohio Republican said, adding that the potential execution is “distressing for people of every country and creed.
"While Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith. This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity," Boehner said.
Similar pleas have come from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as well as U.S., British, and German government officials.
On Monday, GOP presidential hopeful and Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a statement labeling the pastor’s impending execution “unacceptable.”
“There is no shade of gray or room for equivocation here,” Perry said. “Freedom to worship is a basic human right, and the charges against Pastor Nadarkhani are an affront to the essential principles of the civilized world.”
Members of Congress joining the chorus of protests include Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla.; Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz.; Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.; Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa.; Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass.; and Reps. Frank Wolf and Randy Forbes, both Virginia Republicans.
Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal organization that televangelist Pat Robertson founded, told CNN that his organization is working with members of Congress to ensure these statements continue.
“There will be more congressional support . . . absolutely there will be more and more group statements,” Sekulow said.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Iranian-Christian-pastor-death/2011/10/06/id/413548
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Youcef Nadarkhani Executed: Christian Pastor Hanged in Iran for Being Christian
Iran, War on Terror Add comments
Mar
03
2012
Youcef Nadarkhani has been executed in Iran. He is the Christian pastor who has been imprisoned and found guilty by the courts in Iran of being a Christian. Now he’s been executed in spite of international appeals to spare his life. He was hanged today.
Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 for being a Christian in a muslim country – specifically Iran. The 34-year-old father and husband was charged with refusing to convert to Islam. He was given the opportunity to renounce his Christian religion and refused, resulting is his condemnation and sentence to death by hanging.
There is breaking news that he has been put to death by hanging because of his refusal to renounce his Christian religion and acceptance of islam.
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I wonder if Imam Obama is going to demand an apology?
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Youcef Nadarkhani Executed: Christian Pastor Hanged in Iran for Being Christian
Iran, War on Terror Add comments
Mar
03
2012
Youcef Nadarkhani has been executed in Iran. He is the Christian pastor who has been imprisoned and found guilty by the courts in Iran of being a Christian. Now he’s been executed in spite of international appeals to spare his life. He was hanged today.
Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 for being a Christian in a muslim country – specifically Iran. The 34-year-old father and husband was charged with refusing to convert to Islam. He was given the opportunity to renounce his Christian religion and refused, resulting is his condemnation and sentence to death by hanging.
There is breaking news that he has been put to death by hanging because of his refusal to renounce his Christian religion and acceptance of islam.
Well, he might as well have been executed here at home, since I guess Judges can enforce Sharia law on our citizens now if they want.
Fuck this shit. And fuck that backwards ass religion.
Ive given up on being moderate and understanding with those fucks, theyre fucking savages that need to be fucking exterminated, every fucking one of them, starting with the judge that decided its cool to hold US citizens to laws of another nation.
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Matthew 5: 10-12 - “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for their is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
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Now this sounds more like a war against religious freedom
kind of puts the bitching and moaning about contraception into perspective
I'm assuming Christian churches in Iran don't get tax breaks either
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Youcef Nadarkhani Executed: Christian Pastor Hanged in Iran for Being Christian
Iran, War on Terror Add comments
Mar
03
2012
Youcef Nadarkhani has been executed in Iran. He is the Christian pastor who has been imprisoned and found guilty by the courts in Iran of being a Christian. Now he’s been executed in spite of international appeals to spare his life. He was hanged today.
Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 for being a Christian in a muslim country – specifically Iran. The 34-year-old father and husband was charged with refusing to convert to Islam. He was given the opportunity to renounce his Christian religion and refused, resulting is his condemnation and sentence to death by hanging.
There is breaking news that he has been put to death by hanging because of his refusal to renounce his Christian religion and acceptance of islam.
So they went ahead and killed that guy, eh? Feel pretty sad for his kids and wife.
Shockingly, you won't see any Christians rioting over this nor will you likely see the UN condemn and demand that the Iranians be held accountable for their actions.
What a fucking sad world we live in. Cue the cocksucking defenders of Iran to come flying in with their youtube videos claiming that the regime is just misunderstood and is actually really tolerant! I'm sure Bindare will be good for it. ::)
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I know a few Iranians who fled Iran and are great people. Mostly Christians. They hate what the he'll has become of that Islamic death cult known as Iran.
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Just read chance still alive. Let's see.
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So, about all those videos depicting how great it is for Christians in Iran... ::)
Just read chance still alive. Let's see.
Let's hope so.
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Is he still alive?
Congress condemns Iran for sentencing Christian pastor to death
By Perry Chiaramonte
Published March 01, 2012
FoxNews.com
An undated photograph provided by the American Center for Law & Justice shows Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor who faces execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith.
Congress unanimously approved a new resolution condemning the Iranian government for sentencing to death a Christian pastor accused of renouncing Islam.
Youcef Nadarkhani's sentence has been affirmed at the highest levels of Iran's legal system and could be carried out at anytime, according to his supporters. The sentence shows that Tehran has again "failed to uphold its obligations to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," reads House Resolution 556.
The resolution, drafted by Pennsylvania Republican Joseph Pitts, calls for Iran to immediately exonerate and unconditionally release Nadarkhani as well as any other people who are being held or charged for religious or political beliefs.
"In Iran today, Pastor Youcef Nadharkani is in a high security prison wondering whether he will be executed for his faith," Pitts told FoxNews.com. "The government of Iran should abide by the agreements they have signed at the United Nations, which call for religious freedom. The House is asking the highest authorities in Iran to let Pastor Youcef return to his family and worship in peace."
Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, said the lawmakers' stand sends a powerful message.
"The truly bipartisan support in the House to stand up for Pastor Youcef and demand his release is extraordinary," Sekulow said in a released statement. "Iran is violating international law with its detention and promised execution of Pastor Youcef. We're grateful that so many members of Congress -- from different political and religious backgrounds -- understand the importance of standing up for religious freedom, for human rights."
Nadarkhani, who also held house church services in Iran, was facing execution after being convicted of apostasy in November 2010, but appealed his conviction all the way up to the Iranian Supreme Court. He refused to renounce his Christianity and was sentenced to death.
Amid widespread condemnation, the Iranian court introduced new charges of rape and extortion, charges Nadarkhani's supporters say are false and trumped up merely to justify his execution.
Nadarkhani has been detained for nearly two and a half years.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/03/01/congress-approves-resolution-condemning-iran-for-sentencing-christian-pastor-to/?test=latestnews
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Iran Dismisses Execution Sentence on U.S.-Iranian
Reuters ^ | Mon Mar 5, 2012
Posted on March 5, 2012 11:36:33 PM EST by nickcarraway
Iran's supreme court on Monday dismissed an execution sentence passed by a revolutionary court against an Iranian-American national accused of spying for the CIA, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
"The supreme court nullified the execution sentence against Amir Mirza Hekmati and sent it to an affiliate court," said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei without giving further details.
Hekmati, a 28-year-old of Iranian descent born in the state of Arizona, was arrested in December and Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused him of receiving training at U.S. bases in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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Looks like he's still alive.
Senate Considers Measure Condemning Iran for Imprisoning Youcef Nadarkhani
By Katherine Weber , Christian Post Reporter
June 19, 2012|4:02 pm
The U.S. Senate's Committee of Foreign Relations will review a resolution that seeks to free imprisoned Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani while also encouraging Iran to monitor its human rights abuses more closely, especially in cases of religious freedom.
"The Senate resolution supporting Pastor Youcef is a critical symbol of continued international pressure calling for his immediate release," said the American Center for Law and Justice in a press release. The ACLJ has been heavily involved in the pastor's case.
Nadarkhani has remained imprisoned in Iranian jail since Oct. 2009 for his Christian faith, and despite the efforts of the international community to push for his release, the Iranian government continues to keep him behind bars.
The resolution, titled Senate Resolution 385 and drafted by Sen. David Vitter, R-LA, along with seven cosponsors, stands as official condemnation of "the Government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy." The Senate resolution is coupled with House Res. 556, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a unanimous vote earlier this year.
The Senate resolution, which was introduced on the same day the House Resolution passed, contains four prominent points. The resolution:
The ACLJ suggested that the Senate resolution "could not come at a more important time with Pastor Youcef's attorney continuing to face imprisonment himself."
Nadarkhani's lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, was sentenced in May to serve nine years in jail without trial for "acting against the national security."
Without legal representation, Nadarkhani's plight worsens tremendously and the ACLJ is hoping the Senate resolution will be passed and pressure Iran to release the evangelical Christian.
Nadarkhani's sons, Daniel and Yoel, await their father's release along with his wife, Fatema Pasindedih.
The Senate committee was set to review the resolution Tuesday, but it was unclear when the panel would vote on the measure.
http://global.christianpost.com/news/senate-considers-measure-condemning-iran-for-imprisoning-youcef-nadarkhani-76916/
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Awesome. :)
Christian pastor jailed in Iran for 3 years is freed, watchdog group says
By Perry Chiaramonte
Published September 08, 2012
FoxNews.com
(http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/video/091012_al_pastor2_640.jpg)
Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was originally sentenced to death in his native country for his Christian faith, was acquitted of apostasy charges and released from custody.
Nadarkhani, 32, was imprisoned for three years and waiting execution for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. His charges were lowered to evangelizing to Muslims, which carried a three-year sentence. He was released with time served, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington-based watchdog group that had been campaigning for the pastor's release.
"Today our sources in Iran reported that Pastor Youcef was acquitted of apostasy and released from prison. After languishing in prison for almost three years, he has been reunited with his family," Jordan Sekulow, executive director of ACLJ said in a statement to FoxNews.com.
"While we are working on confirming the exact details of his release, some sources report that the court alternatively convicted Pastor Youcef of evangelizing to Muslims, sentencing him to three years and granting him time served. Pastor Youcef’s story is an example of how the world can join together to ensure that justice is served and freedom preserved."
Nadarkhani was originally called to Saturday's hearing to answer to "charges brought against him," leading to speculation that the new charges from the Iranian Supreme Court could be for a security-based crime, a charge often handed down to cover-up prisoners being held and sentenced on faith-based charges.
"While we praise the release of Pastor Youcef, we must recognize that Iran felt obligated to save face among its people and continue its pattern of suppressing religious freedom with intimidation tactics," Tiffany Barrans, a legal director for ACLJ said to FoxNews.com.
"International attention to this matter saved this man's life, but we must not forget the human right of freedom of religion includes the right to freedom of expression."
Nadarkhani's attorney, who also has been jailed, maintained that the married father of two faced execution because he refused to renounce his religion. An Iranian diplomat told a United Nations panel earlier this year that Nadarkhani would not be executed.
According to Sharia law, an apostate has three days to recant. The pastor refused to do so and sources close to the matter say executions in Iran can happen at any time, often without notice. The court is reportedly seeking the opinion of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic republic's spiritual leader and highest authority, according to AFP.
The ACLJ worked with the State Department to try to win Nadarkhani's freedom, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution earlier this year condemning his imprisonment and calling for his immediate release. Nearly 3 million people have voiced support for Nadarkhani on Twitter through the "Tweet for Youcef" campaign.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/08/christian-pastor-jailed-in-iran-for-3-years-is-freed-watchdog-group-says/