Advocate Says Authorities in Iran Increase Pressure on U.S.-Iranian Pastor Saeed Abedini

Advocate Says Authorities in Iran Increase Pressure on U.S.-Iranian Pastor Saeed Abedini
By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service answritermike@gmail.com
ISTANBUL, TURKEY (ANS,  May 4, 2015) -- Morning Star News  (http://morningstarnews.org) reports that a legal advocate said Iranian authorities over the past month have increased pressure on imprisoned U.S.-Iranian pastor Saeed Abedini by threatening to keep him in prison indefinitely.
In an article by the Middle East Correspondent for Morning Star News, the agency says authorities seem to be taking a “carrot-and-stick” approach to Abedini – burying him under a mountain of new, petty charges while promising him freedom if he abandons his faith in Christ and converts back to Islam.
Tiffany Barrans, international director at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) told Morning Star News, “They have said, ‘Don’t think you’ll get out after eight years. We’ll add additional reasons to keep you,’” she said. “That’s the kind of threat, in conjunction with an uptick of, ‘If you recant, if you return to Islam, we will let you go.’ That’s not anything new, but it’s a very concentrated, intense time in the prison at present.”
Morning Star News says the threat is not an idle one. In Gohardasht Prison, also known as Rajai-Shahr, pastor Farshid Fathi could face an additional two-year sentence after the imam of ward 10 accused him of insulting him. The imam filed the complaint after Fathi, along with other prisoners, defied his order for all Christian books in the ward to be inspected, according to Mohabat News.
The imam did not have the legal authority to order the confiscation, the agency said.
Morning Star News reported that on Dec. 29, 2014, Fathi was sentenced to an additional year in prison after authorities accused him of having alcohol – Communion wine – in prison. He has appealed the decision.
“The psychological weight of [new charges against other Christians] certainly has been taking its toll, because Saeed has seen it come to reality for so many others,” Barrans said. 
Morning Star News explained that in October 2014, Iranian authorities sentenced three pastors, Behnam Irani, Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad and Reza Rabbani, all leaders in the Church of Iran, to six years in prison for “actions against national security” and “creating a network to overthrow the system,” catch-all terms the Islamist government uses to suppress Christians and political opponents it perceives as threats. Originally authorities charged the men with “Mofsed-fel-arz” or “spreading corruption on Earth,” a charge that can carry the death penalty.
The news outlet went on to say that in July 2012, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard briefly arrested Abedini during his visit to set up an orphanage he was building. After interrogation, authorities placed Abedini under house arrest and told him to wait for a court summons to face criminal charges for his Christian faith. Two months later, in September, he was arrested at his parents’ home and taken to prison.
The news agency added that on Jan. 27, 2013, Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly threatening “national security” by planting house churches years ago. Abedini, whose 35th birthday is Thursday (May 7), became a U.S. citizen in 2010 and has a wife and two children in the United States. The Iranian government does not recognize his U.S. citizenship.
Barrans said pressure on Abedini comes and goes in waves, but that the current round of ill treatment may be related to international efforts to limit Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons.
Morning Star News stated that Iran has long been at the receiving end of a variety of devastating economic sanctions from the U.S. government, the United Nations and others in an effort to stop its nuclear program. Iran wants to end the sanctions while maintaining as much of its program as possible.
“I can’t say there’s an actual causation, but certainly a possible correlation between the framework that was reached with the P5+1 countries,” Barrans said, referring to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany addressing Iran’s nuclear program. “There’s just been an increased amount of activity and tension and threats and singling out of Saeed as an American in the prison since the framework
Agreement was reached between the countries. These nuclear negotiations have dramatically complicated the situation – as much as our government insists that he is not a political pawn, and that they will not allow him to be used as a political pawn.”
Barrans said that if the U.S. government “leaves the table without getting Abedini’s freedom, it makes things much more difficult to get his release.”
September marks Abedini’s third year in prison. According to Iranian law, most criminal offenders can apply for clemency or parole when they have served one-third of their sentences. Barrans said Abedini’s family is in the process of applying for that. So far, their efforts for clemency have met with no results.
Photo caption: Naghmeh and Saeed Abedini during happier times.
About the writer: Michael Ireland is a Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as a volunteer Internet Journalist and Ordained Minister who has served with ASSIST Ministries and ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. Click http://paper.li/Michael_ASSIST/1410485204 to see a daily digest of Michael's stories for ANS.
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