US calls on Iran to release Christian pastor

ICC Note:
“The United States on Monday called on Iran to release Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned in 2009 and condemned to death for converting from Islam to Christianity,” Agence France-Presse reports.
7/10/2012 Iran (AFP) – The United States on Monday called on Iran to release Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned in 2009 and condemned to death for converting from Islam to Christianity.
“Pastor Nadarkhani still faces the threat of execution for simply following his faith, and we repeat our call for Iranian authorities to release him immediately,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, Pastor Nadarkhani is not alone in his suffering. The Iranian regime continues to deny and abuse the human rights of its citizens, in particular those of its many ethnic and religious minorities,” it said.
The statement also noted reports of the recent execution of four members of Iran’s Arab Ahwazi community, whom it said were put to death “with little due process,” as well as “credible reports” that the author Mohammed Soleimani Nia has gone missing after being released from a five-month prison sentence in May.
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