Christian pastor sentenced to death in Iran for abandoning Islam

February 25, 2012 – TEHRAN – A trial court located in the Gilan Province of Iran has sentenced Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani to death for the crime of converting from Islam to Christianity. In 2009, Nadarkhani, 34 and father of two, was arrested and charged with rape and extortion by the Iranian government, Fox News reported. Tiffany Barrans, international legal director of the American Center for Law and Justice, told The Daily Caller that death sentences are common in the Islamic republic for those who fall away from the Muslim faith. “The Iranian Supreme Court upheld that the proper sentence for an apostate that refuses to recant is death,” Barrans said. Nadarkhani has spent 863 days in jail. The ACLJ has already proven that the rape and extortion charges were false: An Iranian Supreme Court ruling has stated the only charge brought against Nadarkhani was apostasy. Documents from Iran’s Supreme Court are not available to the public, but Barrans’ organization obtained a copy and translated it. After several attempts to force the Christian pastoer to renounce his faith, the Iranian Supreme Court ordered the Gilan trial court to hear his case. That court gave him a death sentenced — which in Iran is typically carried out on the gallows. “The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” ACLJ executive director Jordan Sekulow told Fox News. Even if he were spared execution, Nadarkhani could spend the rest of his life in an Iranian prison, Barran added.“Whether they sentence him for life [in prison] or death, either sentence violates Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant of Political and Civil Rights, as well as the Universal Declaration for Human Rights,” she explained. Even though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 89 members of Congress have called for Nadarkhani’s release, and the ACLJ has been collecting petitions online for months, his advocates are less than optimistic. –Daily Caller

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10 Responses to Christian pastor sentenced to death in Iran for abandoning Islam

dannrivera says:

February 26, 2012 at 12:37 am

VATICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH & THE NEW WORLD ORDER will soon be doing worst that this. The return to the Dark Ages.

Joseph t. Repas says:

February 26, 2012 at 12:56 am

Thank you Alvin for keeping us posted on this story. Will continue to pray for that courageous man. I know what many are saying: so if he is going to heaven if they murder him then what’s the big deal . yes, but even so it is a sobering thing to go into eternity at the hands of people that force their violence on other people not knowing what will happen to his family etc.

Dennis E. says:

February 26, 2012 at 1:13 am

This is a very brave man. His situation has already been written about in the gospels.
He has no doubt beaten/tortured for the cause of the faith. The reason why he won’t recant is because he has had a spiritual experience that outweighs the drama, physically and emotionally he is facing with a deep abiding assurance.
The reason this is important is because if he was to deny Jesus as The Son Of God and accept the god of Islam, then he would lose his life to save his life. Incidents such as this will increase.

This will probably start a firestorm, but it is what it is…………..

Megan says:

February 26, 2012 at 1:17 am

Thank you so much for posting this. I have been passing this alert along in emails to my friends. This man has a wife and two young sons. I can’t even imagine what he’s going through, and there are many more like him in prisons in North Korea, China, Pakistan. These are members of the Body, they are hurting, so we hurt with them.
Megan

Peter says:

February 27, 2012 at 1:15 am

Lord, let your perfect will be done. Pray shalom for this family!
Amen

Larry Fairall says:

February 27, 2012 at 9:52 pm

This could prove very bad…… It is not what God would want. Koran Burning.
:http://www.christianpost.com/news/terry-jones-to-protest-youcef-nadarkhanis-execution-by-burning-qurans-70272/

- The Extinction Protocol says:
  
  February 27, 2012 at 10:12 pm
  
  It’s a tragic story but you don’t stop a fire by starting another.
  
  - Larry Fairall says:
    
    February 29, 2012 at 12:03 pm
    
    Let God handle it.
    Romans 12:19
    Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
    God Bless
lifecovenant says:

February 29, 2012 at 2:40 am

Let’s keep Pastor Youcef and his family in our prayers.

So much persecution in the world.

Tim says:

March 6, 2012 at 3:16 pm

Jordan Sekulow, ACLJ Executive Director, brings the latest news on Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

March 2, 2012