Family Members of U.S. Captives in Iran to Plead with Congress for Their Release

Family Members of U.S. Captives in Iran to Plead with Congress for Their Release
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries and the ASSIST News Service
WASHINGTON, DC (May 29, 2015) -- As the Nuclear Deal with Iran approaches, the wife of Saeed Abedini, the American pastor jailed in Iran, is to testify in support of resolutions demanding his freedom.
Naghmeh Abedini will appear before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, alongside family members of three other Americans imprisoned or missing in Iran.
In addition to Abedini, the panel of witnesses includes Sarah Hekmati, sister of former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati; Ali Rezaian, brother of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian; and Daniel Levinson, son of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson.
Immediately following the hearing, the committee will vote on H.Res. 233, calling on Iran to immediately release the three imprisoned U.S. citizens and provide information on any American citizens who have disappeared within its borders. The resolution is similar to a Senate resolution that passed unanimously earlier this month in the midst of ongoing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
According to the American Center for Law and Justice (http://aclj.org/) , in January 2013, Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to eight years in prison because of his Christian faith—a detention the United Nations and U.S. State Department have blasted as arbitrary and illegal. Abedini’s plight remains urgent as he faces physical abuse, malnourishment, death threats, and psychological abuse from Iranian guards and fellow inmate.
Photo captions: 1) Naghmeh Abedini. 2) Dan Wooding recording his "Front Page Radio" show. (OC Register).
About the writer: Dan Wooding, 74, is an award-winning journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK.
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