American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been moved by Iranian officials to a prison notorious for prisoners killing other prisoners, has reportedly been denied medication and blankets his father tried to give him.
Prison officials said that Abedini is not allowed to have any personal belongings. Those familiar with Rajai Shahr prison say the prison is severely overcrowded and that conditions inside are “deadly and inhumane.”
Jordan Sekulow, the executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, announced Abedini’s move from Evin prison to the brutal Rajai Shahr last week although the Iranian government gave no explanation for the move. He said that without medication, the health of Abedini is likely to quickly decline.
Over 211,000 people have signed a petition calling for President Obama to take immediate action on behalf of Abedini believing that Iran moved the American pastor in the hopes that he will be killed in prison.
The American pastor being held in Iran because of his faith was moved to a prison considered even more brutal than where he had previously been held.
Family members of Saeed Abedini went to visit him at Evin Prison, a Tehran facility where he had been kept over a year. When they arrived, they were told the pastor had been moved 90 minutes away to Rajai Shahr Prison.
Rajai Shahr prison houses some of Iran’s more violent prisoners including murderers and rapists. Also, Abedini is not allowed to have any visitors at that prison.
The American Center for Law and Justice, Abedini’s American based attorneys, say that Abedini has been beaten and tortured. The mysterious move has concerned his lawyers who have been closely monitoring Abedini’s health.
The European Parliament passed a resolution calling for Iran to release Pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned for over a year because of his Christian faith.
The resolution states the European Parliament “is deeply concerned about the fate of Pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been detained for over a year and was sentenced to eight years of prison in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs.”
The Christian Post reports that the resolution was received this week by the American Center for Law and Justice, who is representing the jailed pastor and his family.
Iran imprisoned the Christian pastor in 2012 for allegedly threatening national security. However, many world leaders have stated their beliefs his imprisonment is directly connected to his Christian faith.
For the first time, President Obama has made a direct appeal to Iran for the release of jailed Christian pastor Saeed Abedini.
President Obama called Iranian President Hassan Rouhani marking the first time the leaders of the two nations have spoken directly since 1979. While the majority of the conversation centered on Iran’s enrichment of nuclear materials, Obama broached the subject of the American pastor jailed for his faith. Continue reading →
Naghmeh Abedini, wife of jailed American pastor Saeed Abedini, is calling for a national day of prayer for her husband as authorities have done nothing to save him from Iran’s brutal Evin prison.
“There are now 44 cities in the U.S. that have gotten permits and are on board for doing the prayer vigil on September 26, which is the one year anniversary of Saeed’s imprisonment in Evin (Prison). Different cities are holding it at different times, but most cities are holding it at noon their time in front of courthouses, city halls, or their state capitol building,” Abedini told The Global Dispatch in an interview. Continue reading →
Franklin Graham released a statement marking the 10th month that American Pastor Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran’s brutal Evin Prison facing torture for being a Christian.
He’s also sharing that the pastor’s wife is feeling abandoned by the American government who has done nothing to free her husband. Naghmeh Abedini worries she and her two children will never see her husband again. Continue reading →
The family of imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini was able to visit him in iran’s brutal Evin Prison.
They report that he is in “good spirits” and that the most severe of his medical symptoms have eased. However, the Iranian government is still refusing to allow him treatment for severe abdominal pain. Continue reading →
Idaho senator James Risch is making an appeal to the Iranian people for Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini, jailed in Iran’s brutal Evin prison for his faith. Abedini has been in prison for nearly 300 days suffering long periods in solitary confinement, beatings and torture at the hands of Iranian jailers.
Abedini traveled to Iran to help build an orphanage. He had lived in Iran prior to becoming a U.S. citizen and had been a key people in the home church movement. He was arrested in 2009 and released after pledging to stop organizing house churches. Continue reading →
Within a day of news reports that the wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini, jailed in Iran for refusing to renounce his faith, was going to speak to a United Nations conference seeking help in gaining her husband’s freedom, the White House has released a statement in the case of the jailed American pastor. Continue reading →
The wife of jailed Christian pastor Saeed Abedini is going to address the United Nations Human Rights Council in an attempt to gain her husband’s freedom after failing to gain any support from the U.S. government.
Naghmeh Abdeini is going to talk to the Council about Saeed’s failing health and abuse in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. Continue reading →