Pastor Nadarkhani Released, Imprisoned Lawyer’s Health Deteriorates
Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who was re-imprisoned on Christmas Day, was released Jan. 7, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports. In September 2012, Pastor Nadarkhani was acquitted of apostasy but received a three-year sentence for evangelizing Muslims. Since he had already spent close to three years in Lakan Prison in Rasht, the pastor was released after posting bail. However, in a highly irregular move, he was returned to jail on Christmas Day on the orders of prison authorities, who claimed he had been released too early due to the insistence of his lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah. Dadkhah, a prominent human rights lawyer, was subsequently jailed for 10 years and disbarred in September 2012 for “actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime” and keeping banned books in his home. He was also banned from practicing or teaching law for 10 years. Dadkhah is currently being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, and concerns have been expressed for his well-being following reports that he is suffering from memory loss and is under pressure to make a televised confession of guilt.
From Religion News Service (RNS)