Iran court convicts Christian pastor convert to death
Iran court convicts Christian pastor convert to death
By Lisa Daftari
Published February 22, 2012
An undated photograph circulated by religious rights organizations shows Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.
A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.
Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.
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It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.
“The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
“This one case is not just about one execution. We have been able to expose the system instead of just letting one man disappear, like so many other Christians have in the past.”
It is also feared that Nadarkhani will be executed in retaliation as Iran endures crippling sanctions and international pressure in response to its nuclear agenda and rogue rhetoric. The number of executions in Iran has increased significantly in the last month.
“This is defiance,” Sekulow said. “They want to say they will carry out what they say they will do.”
The order to execute Nadarkhani came only days after lawmakers in Congress supported a resolution sponsored by Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph Pitts denouncing the apostasy charge and calling for his immediate release.
“Iran has become more isolated because of their drive for nuclear weapons, and the fundamentalist government has stepped up persecution of religious minorities to deflect criticism,” Pitts, a Republican, told FoxNews.com. “The persecuted are their own citizens, whose only crime is practicing their faith.”
The ACLJ has been a major driving force in keeping Nadarkhani’s case in the international spotlight. Many other advocacy groups and human rights organizations also have mounted global campaigns and petitions against the Iranian government, and experts credit Nadarkhani’s international support for keeping him alive.
The ACLJ recently launched a Twitter campaign to publicize Nadarkhani’s case, asking participants to dedicate a daily tweet to “Tweet for Youcef,” stating the number of days he has been imprisoned (currently 863) and ending the tweet with “ViaOfficialACLJ,” sending readers back to the organization’s website where they could learn more about his case.
Tweets have reached 157 countries and over 400,000 people.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 89 members of Congress, along with the European Union, France, Great Britain, Mexico and Germany, have condemned Iran for arresting Nadarkhani and have called for his quick release.
Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and was tried and found guilty of apostasy by a lower court in Gilan, a province in Rasht. He was then given verbal notification of an impending death-by-hanging sentence.
His lawyers appealed the decision under the premise that Nadarkhani was never a Muslim at the age of majority, and the case was sent to Iran’s Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s decision of execution, provided it could be proven that he had been a practicing Muslim from the age of adulthood, 15 in Islamic law, to age 19, which was when he converted.
The lower court then ruled that Nadarkhani had not practiced Islam during his adult life but still upheld the apostasy charge because he was born into a Muslim family.
The court then gave Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant, as the law requires a man to be given three chances to recant his beliefs and return to Islam.
His first option was to convert back to Islam. When he refused, he was asked to declare Muhammad a prophet, and still he declined.
Iran’s judiciary had delayed in issuing a final verdict, fearing the decision would have far-reaching political implications.
Sources say Nadarkhani has been advised by family members, lawyers and members of his church to remain silent throughout his ordeal, out of fear that authorities may use his statements against him, a strategy commonly employed by the regime.
Do you ask the Chinese members to "justify" why China is communist or has horrible human rights policies? Do you ask the Russian members to justify why Russia's government is corrupt?
The members in this group that may be Muslim are not necessarily from Iran so why would they be placed in a position to justify this to you?
The same reason there are so many out there who expect us all to apologize for 9/11 and that we shouldnt be offended when people act like they are afraid of us when they see us out in public.
Quoting katy_kay08:Do you ask the Chinese members to "justify" why China is communist or has horrible human rights policies? Do you ask the Russian members to justify why Russia's government is corrupt?
The members in this group that may be Muslim are not necessarily from Iran so why would they be placed in a position to justify this to you?
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I would say, it's a law that they have in that particular country and the man broke the law. Whether we like it or not. Im sure there are plenty of people in other countries saying the same thing about some of our laws here.
I'm sure plenty of the laws here do suck
Quoting muslimahpj:I would say, it's a law that they have in that particular country and the man broke the law. Whether we like it or not. Im sure there are plenty of people in other countries saying the same thing about some of our laws here.
this sucks to say.. but,
he broke the law of that country. However, I do not agree with it, that is persecution.. period
People wonder what it looks like when religion and government mix. Those that are quick to argue in favor of a theocracy all believe that their religion should be the one picked and also have the arrogance to believe they would do it better.
Who are you to decide that? The Christian God (which is also the same as the Jewish and Muslim God) has asked the same thing.
Quoting babydoll845:
Religion or not if it is any religion to murder they must be worshiping the WRONG god!
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