Iran: Pastor Yousef facing increased pressure and deteriorating health

Yousef Nadarkhani, sentenced to death a year ago after a court of appeals found him guilty of leaving Islam, is in deteriorating health, according to a member of his denomination, the Church of Iran.

The source, who requested anonymity, said that communication with Yousef is limited, but that sources close to him indicated that he has undergone physical and psychological torture. 

"Certainly he was hit, but his [telephone] conversations are heard [by authorities]," the source said. "We know that he has been in extreme situations, and we consider that torture. When you have spent time in a solitary cell unable to talk to others for a long time, or you are told you will be killed, this is also torture."

The court in Rasht was expected to pronounce a verdict on Yousef's appeal last month, and sources said the court's long silence bodes ill. Instead of pronouncing a verdict, the court sent the Christian's case to Iran's Islamic authority, Ayatollah Khamenei, to make a ruling.

Authorities have continued to pressure Yousef to recant his faith while in prison. Last month they gave him Islamic literature aimed at discrediting the Bible, and instructed him to read it.

Some sources indicate a ruling could come in the second half of December. One said some Iranian Christians believe that, in the face of international outrage over the case, the government would announce a verdict near the Christmas holidays so it would receive less attention.

Guilty of apostasy 'due to Muslim ancestry'

Authorities arrested Pastor Yousef in his home city of Rasht in October 2009 on charges that he questioned obligatory religion classes in Iranian schools. After finding him guilty of apostasy, the court of appeals in Rasht in November 2010 issued a written confirmation of his charges and death sentence.

At an appeal hearing in June, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld Yousef's sentence but asked the court in Rasht to determine if he was a practising Muslim before his conversion. The court declared that Yousef was not a practising Muslim before his conversion, but that he was still guilty of apostasy due to his Muslim ancestry.

The Supreme Court had also determined that his death sentence could be annulled if he recanted his faith. The Rasht court gave Yousef three chances to recant Christianity in accordance with sharia (Islamic law), but he refused to do so. His final appeal hearings ended on 28 September, and the court was expected to make its final decision within two weeks.

"For the moment, we are waiting," said the Church of Iran source. "The only thing his lawyer told me is that the file went to the Supreme Court, but normally we should have had a response by now."

Source: Compass Direct News

Please pray:

• For God's peace and courage for Pastor Yousef and his family as they await news
• For wisdom and protection for Pastor Yousef's lawyer
• That the death sentence will be annulled and charges of apostasy dropped

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