Youcef Nadarkhani |
An Iranian court has said it will delay a final verdict on the case of imprisoned Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for a year.
Previous reports said that Nadarkhani's case – he's accused of leaving Islam and could be sentenced to death – would be decided in mid-December by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayyed Khameini. Khameini has not announced a decision.
Pastor Nadakhani was arrested and convicted of apostasy in 2009 for allegedly leaving Islam, a charge he denied by saying that he was never a Muslim.
International Christian Concern's Aidan Clay says the delay in a decision is a careful but deliberate decision by Iran's judiciary.
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"Recent reports indicate that the presiding judge over Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's case was ordered by the head of the judiciary to postpone the announcement of Youcef's verdict for another year, meaning Youcef will remain in prison," Clay said.
Clay adds that even a month ago, the Iranians were promising a decision by the middle of this month.
"Only a month ago, the court said it would make a decision by mid-December. The court had handed the decision over to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, following fervent international pressure in October. Whether or not Khamenei made a decision is not known, but the verdict that was expected to be announced in the coming days has instead been put off once again," Clay said.
Clay believes the real reason for the delay is that the Iranians are hoping human rights groups will forget about the Iranian pastor.
"Undoubtedly, authorities are hoping that the international community will forget about Youcef altogether. However, up until now, that has not been the case as international attention continues to grow. On December 9, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for Youcef’s immediate and unconditional release," Clay said.
"Her statement followed the demands of others, including Britain, Canada, France, Mexico, and a European Parliament resolution. Groups like the ACLJ have done an outstanding job by acquiring hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition to raise awareness of Youcef’s plight," Clay said.
"There is no doubt that the considerable amount of attention on the case has played a vital role in keeping Youcef alive," Clay said.
Clay believes the Iranians will use the time to accomplish their main objective – to get the pastor to deny his faith.
"Iranian authorities will clearly use the lengthened imprisonment and the extensive amount of pressure it entitles to attempt to persuade Youcef to recant his Christian faith," Clay said.
WND previously has reported that Colorado journalist Jack Minor's research reveals that Nadarkhani's Christian background isn't enough, according to some Iranian Shia clerics.
Minor pointed out that Islam teaches that everyone on earth is born a Muslim
"On page 28, in the introduction of a copy of the Quran, printed by Ansariyan Publications in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the translator, M.H. Shakir in the section 'Islam and Muslims' states, 'In fact, every child that is born is a Muslim. It is the parents who make him a Jew, Christian or Hindu,'" Minor said.
"Based on this teaching, even if Nadarkhani had never visited a mosque a day in his life he is still considered a Muslim. Therefore, when he accepted Christ as his savior and became a Christian he left the Muslim faith whether he knew it or not," Minor reported.
Clay adds that while Pastor Nadarkhani is grabbing the headlines, Iranian authorities also have arrested and detained other pastors.
"Three church leaders were told to report to prison to begin serving long-term sentences on November 29. Another pastor, Behnam Irani, is currently being tortured in prison and is in poor health, according to Present Truth Ministries. Others, like Ehsan Behrouz from Mashhad, have recently been arrested," Clay said.
He adds that the persecution isn't limited to Christians.
"And, in the Bahá'à community, numerous house raids and several arrests have occurred in the past few weeks. There is also grave concern that, like last year, mass arrests will again be carried out against the church this Christmas season," Clay said.