Please sign the Petition!
Please Pray for his release and his safety and that of his family.
Sign petition here:
Every Nation is welcome to sign this Petition!
Every Nation is welcome to sign this Petition!
http://aclj.org/iran/save-christian-pastor-nadarkhani-iranian-death-sentence
Pastor Youcef remains under a death sentence in Iran for his Christian faith.
Pastor Youcef is still alive today because people the world over have taken a stand, calling for his freedom. Now it is time for Congress to speak with one voice urging the Iranian regime to overturn Pastor Youcef's death sentence and immediately release him.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and the Iranian court continue to delay their final decision on Pastor Youcef's fate – leaving him illegally imprisoned in Iran, separated from his church, his wife, and his two sons. Today (Feb 20th,2012) marks the 861st day of Pastor Youcef's illegal detention.
The ACLJ has been diligently working with Pastor Youcef's attorney in Iran to secure his release. We know that it is absolutely critical in saving Pastor Youcef's life that his story continue to be told.
International pressure continues to help keep Pastor Youcef alive. If a large majority of Congress supports this new bipartisan resolution, it could have a significant impact on pressuring Iran for Pastor Youcef's release.
We must urge every Member of Congress to support this effort. Take action.
We have also seen tremendous success with our Tweet for Youcef campaign. Each day updates on Pastor Youcef are reaching more than 305,000 twitter accounts in over 180 countries, including in the heart of Iran.
I cannot stress enough how absolutely critical this effort is in saving Pastor Youcef's life.
If you are on Twitter, please join the more than 1,400 people who have signed up to allow us to send one tweet a day on Pastor Youcef's behalf.
Thank you for your willingness to join the ACLJ in taking a stand for Pastor Youcef and the many Christians facing persecution worldwide that his story represents.
Jay Sekulow-ACLJ Chief Counsel
P.S. The fight to save this Christian pastor's life depends on people around the world speaking up for him, being his voice. Please forward this critical message and use the Facebook "Like" buttons.
You Can Help http://presenttruthmn.com/persecuted-christians/
***FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO HELP BROTHER YOUCEF***
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
(Hebrews 13:3)
The apostle Paul writes to the Hebrews commanding that they remember the believers that are in bonds. This is not just an historical message, as there are many in prison today for the sake of the Gospel.
How can we remember them? You can do this first and foremost by praying for them daily. The greatest power we have on earth is prayer. God works mightily and powerfully through the effectual fervent prayers of the righteous. Pray for their strength to overcome the pressure put on them to turn away from Jesus Christ. Pray that they accomplish the purpose of God in their lives through their bonds. God is sovereign and has a purpose for everything. He has often used the imprisonment of believers to bring others to salvation and redemption. Finally, pray for their release and deliverance the chains of prison.
Your Congressmen and MP’s will ask you what you would like them to do. In the US ask them to push this issue with the State Department. In other countries request that they call in the Iranian Ambassador and ask him about this case, Islamic Human Rights and whether Iran truly follows the human rights charter they signed at the UN.
Those from the United States please contact your Congressman by going to https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml and typing in your zip code. Then contact them either by phone or by email.
Those from Canada contact your MP at http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/houseofcommons/memberbypostalcode.aspx?menu=hoc
If you are from the United Kingdom go to http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/
You can also help by spreading the word to others about persecuted believers. Share information on Facebook, via email, Twitter, however you communicate with others.
Guidelines for writing to prisoners: http://www.prisoneralert.com/vompw_writing.htmRemember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
(Hebrews 13:3)
The apostle Paul writes to the Hebrews commanding that they remember the believers that are in bonds. This is not just an historical message, as there are many in prison today for the sake of the Gospel.
How can we remember them? You can do this first and foremost by praying for them daily. The greatest power we have on earth is prayer. God works mightily and powerfully through the effectual fervent prayers of the righteous. Pray for their strength to overcome the pressure put on them to turn away from Jesus Christ. Pray that they accomplish the purpose of God in their lives through their bonds. God is sovereign and has a purpose for everything. He has often used the imprisonment of believers to bring others to salvation and redemption. Finally, pray for their release and deliverance the chains of prison.You can also give financially to support the work and spread the gospel in these countries. To find out more about what we do to help believers visit our Ministry page.
You can help them by writing to government officials, both in your own country and the country that the believers are from. Simply write that you appreciate that their government allows freedom of religion and that you have heard that such and such a person is in prison for being a Christian and that you would request that they look into this matter and take action.Your Congressmen and MP’s will ask you what you would like them to do. In the US ask them to push this issue with the State Department. In other countries request that they call in the Iranian Ambassador and ask him about this case, Islamic Human Rights and whether Iran truly follows the human rights charter they signed at the UN.
Those from the United States please contact your Congressman by going to https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml and typing in your zip code. Then contact them either by phone or by email.
Those from Canada contact your MP at http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/houseofcommons/memberbypostalcode.aspx?menu=hoc
If you are from the United Kingdom go to http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/
If you are from Australia go to http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/find-your-local-mp.htm
You can also contact your UN ambassador by going to http://www.un.org/en/members/Please write a letter to brother Youcef by going to http://www.prisoneralert.com/pprofiles/vp_prisoner_214_profile.html?_nc=c7d8efa49d5fd6ed0f64427b45c2f872 and under What You Can Do click on “write an encouraging letter” then follow the prompts.
You can also contact the following by email or Fax the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, + 98 21 774 2228; the President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Fax: + 98 21 649 5880, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki, Fax: + 98 21 390 1999, requesting the release and remission of all charges against Pastors Youcef Nadarkhani, Behnam Irani and other prisoners of conscience in Iran.You can also help by spreading the word to others about persecuted believers. Share information on Facebook, via email, Twitter, however you communicate with others.
International Business Times reports:
Iran has issued what could be the final execution order for Youcef Nadarkhani, the Christian pastor who was found guilty of renouncing Islam.
Nadarkhani has been waiting in limbo for this verdict for months. After turning down four separate chances to convert to Islam to save his life, Iranian officials delayed their sentencing, leaving the pastor to await his fate inside a cell in Iran's Gilan province. But now, Nadarkhani could be executed within days.
Nadarkhani has been waiting in limbo for this verdict for months. After turning down four separate chances to convert to Islam to save his life, Iranian officials delayed their sentencing, leaving the pastor to await his fate inside a cell in Iran's Gilan province. But now, Nadarkhani could be executed within days.
"They are threatening to execute a pastor who is, in my opinion, totally innocent," said U.S. Representative Joseph Pitts (R. - PA), who is sponsoring a congressional resolution to call for Nadarkhani's freedom.
"He's facing the threat of execution on false charges just because of his religious belief. He's willing to face the hangman's noose over this."
On Monday, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), an international Christian and human rights organization, discovered that Nadarkhani's "life is in imminent danger" and that "the situation has not been this dire" since the organization first learned of his arrest. While that first report did not go into specifics, the organization believes it has confirmed the execution order and that, at least as of Tuesday, Nadarkhani was still alive.
"Iran's legal system is not like any legal system in the world. [The order] is still being kept secret. Even his legal team might not find out about the execution until the body is delivered to the family," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ.
Crisis of Faith
The pastor, who once led a small congregation of about 400 worshipers in the northwest part of the country, was originally arrested in 2009 for apostasy, the crime of abandoning one's faith. Although apostasy is not a crime under Iran's official legal code, it is punishable by death according to Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwas and religious decrees, thereby bringing Nadarkhani's trial through Iran's special Revolutionary Court.
Under Iranian law, anyone born to Muslim parents is a Muslim. Nadarkhani claimed in his defense that he never accepted the Islamic faith and that he became a Christian before 15, the age of religious maturity in Iran. And while Christianity is a protected religion under Iran's constitution, Nadarkhani was also charged with converting other Muslims to Christianity through his evangelism, which is a crime.
A year after his arrest Nadarkhani, was "convicted of turning his back on Islam, the greatest religion of the prophesy of Mohammad, at the age of 19," according to a court ruling from December, 2010. That's when the first death sentence was handed out. After many attempts to get the pastor to repent, the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court and then to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is still the final judge.
If the order goes through, it will be the first time that anyone has been officially hanged for apostasy in Iran in over 20 years.
(However, the legal system allows Iran to publish charges after a criminal has been executed, meaning that the court can mask an apostasy execution after the fact by changing the conviction. Iran has already made claims that Nadarkhani was arrested for "security-related crimes" like Zionism and spying -- claims which court documents refuted but were made nonetheless.)
Final Plea
Along with Pitts, who is co-sponsoring the bill with Rep. Keith Ellison (D. - Minn), the White House, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the European Union have also condemned Iran for breaking with the Universal Declaration of Human rights, of which Iran is a signatory.
But these official censures may be too little too late. Iran's execution orders are kept private, so the details are unclear and the execution order could be carried out at any time.
In Iran, those sentenced to death generally don't wait long for execution. Alireza Molla-Soltani, a teenager convicted of the murder of "Iran's strongest man," was sentenced to death on Aug. 20, 2011, denied appeal on Sept. 11, and then hanged on Sept. 21. Thus, Nadarkhani could be hanged in a matter of days.
"There are grave concerns that the death sentence could be carried out at any time without prior notification and that the authorities will merely announce it later, a practice that is not uncommon in Iran," activist group Christian Solidarity Worldwide stated.
If the execution is held publicly, it will have to be approved by Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani. But if it's done in private, which most hangings in Iran are, it may not be known about until days or weeks after it occurs, the ACLJ points out.
Still, Pitts and Sekulow believe that if enough international attention on the issue is brought quickly to the fore, the pressure will be enough change the minds of Iranian leadership, at least for the time being.
"It's not there's no hope, because Iran knows it's being watched," said Sekulow. "The only hope for [Nadarkhani] right now is that one of the ayatollahs steps in." [Because of the secrecy surrounding the case,] "we won't know who stepped in or how, but it will still be a victory."
"I hope people will pray for him and for the Iranian authorities and that the right thing will be done. It's the only thing that some of us can do," said Pitts.
Charlotte Baptist Examiner Wayne Hobbs reporting
http://www.examiner.com/baptist-in-charlotte/christian-pastor-youcef-nadarkhani-sentenced-to-die-iran
As we begin this Lent, it is imperative that we remember and honor the reason for this blessed season. Indeed, Lent serves as a reminder that we, like our Lord Jesus, should be willing to make sacrifices.
At this very moment, an Iranian Christian pastor name Youcef Nadarkhani stands as a sobering reminder that our faith and freedom come to us through a heavy price. Pastor Nadarkhani awaits a pending death sentence in Iran simply because he is a Christian amidst a Moslem dominated judicial system.
The Christian Post reported this story when they were contacted by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), detailing trumped up charges of “apostasy” leveled against the pastor. In 2009, an Iranian court claimed that Nadarkhani was converted to Christianity, after having been a Moslem first – a crime in the Islamic world that carries a death sentence.
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