{"id":2736,"date":"2013-03-26T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-26T06:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/secretary-kerry-calls-for-freedom-of-imprisoned-iranian-pastor\/"},"modified":"2013-03-26T06:02:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T06:02:00","slug":"secretary-kerry-calls-for-freedom-of-imprisoned-iranian-pastor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/03\/secretary-kerry-calls-for-freedom-of-imprisoned-iranian-pastor\/","title":{"rendered":"Secretary Kerry calls for freedom of imprisoned Iranian pastor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Mar 26, 2013 \/ 12:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- After repeatedly being petitioned by lawmakers and citizens, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI am deeply concerned about the fate of U.S citizen Saeed Abedini, who has been detained for nearly six months and was sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs,\u201d said Kerry in a March 22 press release.<\/p>\n

\tSecretary Kerry wrote that he was \u201cdisturbed\u201d by accounts of Abedini\u2019s \u201cphysical and psychological abuse in prison\u201d as well as a \u201clack of due process\u201d in Iran\u2019s refusal to allow Swiss access to Abedini on behalf of the U.S.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSuch mistreatment violates international norms as well as Iran\u2019s own laws,\u201d Kerry commented.<\/p>\n

\tHe added his hopes that the pastor would be able to receive further medical attention from specialists outside of the prison.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe best outcome for Mr. Abedini is that he be immediately released,\u201d the Secretary of State said.<\/p>\n

\tThirty-two year old Abedini is currently serving an eight-year sentence in Iran\u2019s notorious Evin Prison following a September 2012 arrest.<\/p>\n

\tThe pastor converted to Christianity from Islam in 2000 and has been a U.S. citizen since 2010, after marrying an American woman.<\/p>\n

\tHe initially attracted the ire of the Iranian regime for his work with house churches. In 2009, the government came to an agreement with him, under which he would stop his work with the churches in exchange for the ability to travel freely in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tAbedini then turned his focus to non-religious orphanages. However, when he was arrested last fall, Iranian officials cited his earlier work with churches, claiming that while such work is technically legal, he had threatened national security by doing so.<\/p>\n

\tAbedini\u2019s wife, Naghema, lives in the U.S. and has been working to raise awareness of her husband\u2019s plight, aided by the European Centre for Law and Justice and the American Center of Law and Justice.<\/p>\n

\tThe organizations have helped collect nearly 550,000 signatures in support of Abedini. They have also run a Twitter campaign on his behalf and have presented his case to the United Nations and to members of Congress and the State Department.<\/p>\n

\tOther prominent leaders have also called for the pastor\u2019s release, including a group of Congressmen and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council Eileen C. Donahoe.<\/p>\n

\tSecretary Kerry\u2019s response follows the release of a recent letter from Abedini to his wife describing the conditions of the prison, including brutal treatment of a disabled prisoner in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n

\tIn the letter, Abedini also describes the treatment he has received, including beatings and refusal of medical treatment by prison staff because of his beliefs. Due to the abuse he has suffered, the pastor said that he did not even recognize himself when he saw his image in a mirror for the first time in months.<\/p>\n

\tJordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center of Law and Justice, said that he was \u201cvery pleased\u201d by Kerry\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBy speaking out directly on behalf of Pastor Saeed, Secretary Kerry is taking our government\u2019s most aggressive action yet in working to secure the freedom of this U.S. citizen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tHe applauded the \u201cbold and public statement,\u201d along with the formal recognition of the abuses Abedini has suffered.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBy engaging the Pastor Saeed case at the highest level, we\u2019re hopeful that the State Department will now do everything in its power to secure the release of this U.S. citizen,\u201d Sekulow said.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tAbedini\u2019s wife also released a statement, saying that she was \u201chopeful that this will put more pressure on the Iranian government to act and free Saeed so he can return to our family in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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Washington D.C., Mar 26, 2013 \/ 12:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- After repeatedly being petitioned by lawmakers and citizens, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christia…<\/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-2736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nSecretary Kerry calls for freedom of imprisoned Iranian pastor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Mar 26, 2013 \/ 12:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- After repeatedly being petitioned by lawmakers and citizens, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Iran for his Christia...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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