“I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus,” says American pastor who faces death sentence in Iran

From Bare Naked Islam:

Telegraph  An American Christian pastor faces a possible death sentence in Iran after prosecutors accused him of harming national security on charges he and his supporters claim amount to religious persecution.

Saeed Abedini, 32, who is Iranian born, is expected to go on trial next week before a revolutionary tribunal in Tehran in a hearing presided over by a judge blacklisted by the European Union for handing down harsh verdicts. His wife, Najmeh, says he has suffered beatings during interrogation and has expressed fears for his life in letters to her. ”This is the process in my life today: one day I am told I will be freed and allowed to see my kids on Christmas (which was a lie) and the next day I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus,” Mr Abedini, a father-of-two, wrote in one letter. “One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy.”

The origins of the charges against Mr Abdini are not clear. But the American Centre for Law and Justice, a Christian advocacy group founded by the evangelist preacher, Pat Robertson, said it was connected with starting a home church movement.

Harming national security is a capital crime under Iran’s legal statute. Critics say it is vaguely defined and used to suppress opponents of the country’s Islamic regime. Mr Abdini, who converted to Christianity at the age of 20, was building an orphanage near the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea, fuelled by a belief that the Bible teaches helping widows and orphans, according to his wife.

Mr Abidini had travelled to Iran nine times since his detention before being arrested again. “He had no worries that he would be arrested, believing that he kept his end of the promise and that the government would keep their end,” she told AFP.

He has not had access to a lawyer since being re-arrested, she added. Mr Abdini is expected to be tried by Abbas Pir-Abassi, a judge subject to EU sanctions for human rights violations after sentencing several activists to death.