{"id":2095,"date":"2013-01-24T07:02:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-24T07:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/imprisoned-christian-pastor-banned-from-trial\/"},"modified":"2013-01-24T07:02:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-24T07:02:00","slug":"imprisoned-christian-pastor-banned-from-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/01\/imprisoned-christian-pastor-banned-from-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Imprisoned Christian pastor banned from trial"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Jan 24, 2013 \/ 12:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- An American citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith has been barred from attending his own trial and faces serious danger, warned a legal team monitoring his case.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIran has continued its lies and disinformation campaign to deflect attention from its abuse of this U.S. citizen for his faith,\u201d said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice.<\/p>\n

\tIn a series of Jan. 21-23 blog posts, Sekulow cautioned that the Iran is trying to punish 32-year-old pastor Saeed Abedini for his Christian beliefs.<\/p>\n

\tThe Iranian-born pastor has been charged with attempting to undermine national security by helping to create Christian house churches in the country. Although such churches are technically legal, the regime claims that the pastor has tried to turn young people in Iran away from the national religion of Islam.<\/p>\n

\tAccording to Sekulow, the court\u2019s evidence stemmed back to the year 2000, when Abedini converted from Islam to Christianity.<\/p>\n

\tHe explained that Iran had demanded that Abedini stop working with these churches. The pastor had agreed, striking a 2009 deal with the regime that allowed him to travel freely in the country if he would give up his work with underground churches. He then turned his focus towards non-religious orphanages.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, Abedini was arrested last September while on a trip to work with these orphanages and visit his family. He is on trial before a notorious Iranian judge whose harsh sentences have elicited sanctions from the European Union.<\/p>\n

\tAbedini\u2019s lawyer was only allowed to see the court file one week before the Jan. 21 court date, Sekulow said.<\/p>\n

\tOn the first day of the trial, he explained, the attorney presented a strong defense of the pastor\u2019s Christian activities, arguing that they did not threaten the national security of Iran, but were motivated by religion rather than a political agenda.<\/p>\n

\tThe trial continued the next day, Sekulow said, but both Abedini and his lawyer were barred from attending.<\/p>\n

\tThe American Center for Law and Justice \u2013 which is representing the pastor\u2019s wife and children, who live in the U.S. \u2013 said it has confirmed that the court heard the testimony of a lay church leader, who was questioned about Abedini\u2019s conversion and work in the country.<\/p>\n

\tOn Jan. 21, a semi-official Iranian news agency stated that Abedini would be released after posting $116,000 bail.<\/p>\n

\tThe report was initially circulated by the Associated Press but was promptly denied by Abedini\u2019s wife, who said that while the family has presented bail, it has been rejected repeatedly by the regime, which is refusing to drop the charges against her husband.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis is all a lie by the Iranian media,\u201d she said in a statement provided to the American Center for Law and Justice. \u201cThis is a game to silence the international media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSekulow warned that Iran\u2019s actions make it clear that the government \u201chas no intention whatsoever of releasing Pastor Saeed, allowing to him to return to the U.S., or even issuing a verdict any time soon.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tHe called Abedini\u2019s treatment \u201ca clear and continued blatant violation of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIt is unclear when the Iranian judge will give a verdict in the case and what sentence is the regime is pursuing against Abedini, however Sekulow said the pastor could face a lengthy prison sentence or even death. He called for a strong international voice on behalf of Abedini.<\/p>\n

\tSeveral members of the U.S. House and Senate, along with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, have called for Abedini\u2019s freedom<\/p>\n

\tIn addition, more than 200,000 Americans have signed a petition calling on the U.S. government to engage the Iranian regime, publically condemn the pastor\u2019s imprisonment and call for his release.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe know from past cases that strong international support is crucial, but the responsibility to support a U.S. citizen starts with our own government,\u201d Sekulow explained.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Jan 24, 2013 \/ 12:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- An American citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith has been barred from attending his own trial and faces serious danger, warned a legal team monitoring his case.<\/p>\n

\t“Iran has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nImprisoned Christian pastor banned from trial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Jan 24, 2013 \/ 12:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- An American citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith has been barred from attending his own trial and faces serious danger, warned a legal team monitoring his case. “Iran has...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/01\/imprisoned-christian-pastor-banned-from-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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