Christian Pastor May be Released from Iraq Prison Pending Presidential Approval

Suffering Christian Pastor in Iraq Prison May Be Released Pending Presidential Approval
ICC Note: There is hope that imprisoned Christian pastor Abdi Ali Hamzah may soon be released after World Compassion Ministries met with high-ranking Iraqi officials and petitioned for his freedom, the Christian Post reports. On February 14, ICC reported that Pastor Abdi was suffering from severe health problems that could be life threatening if Abdi remains in prison. Abdi was arrested in July 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage. Supporters, however, believe that Abdi was jailed for no other reason than his Christian faith.
By Stoyan Zaimov
2/22/2013 Iraq (Christian Post) – Pastor Abdi Ali Hamzah might be released from Iraqi prison after Dr. Terry Law of World Compassion Ministries met with high-ranking government officials and petitioned for his freedom.
“We need a continued focus of prayer over the next week or so as we continue to go through the appeal process,” Jason Law, vice president of Operations and the son of Dr. Terry Law, shared in an email with The Christian Post on Friday. “We have high expectations for his release soon.”
Hamzah, also called Pastor Jamal, was arrested in July 2011 and was sentenced to five years in Iraqi prison, allegedly for being a spy to Iran. World Compassion says that those were false charges, however, and that the sentencing might have more to do with the pastor’s evangelism – Pastor Jamal has risked his life going undercover to refugee villages and helping Dr. Law distribute $100,000-worth of food to people in Iraq.
Dr. Law has also ministered to people in the former Soviet Union, Cuba and North Korea. He traveled to Iraq last weekend to campaign for the Iraqi pastor’s release based on humanitarian grounds.
In a blog post detailing the meeting, World Compassion says Dr. Law met with Iraqi officials and spoke for 40 minutes about Pastor Jamal’s medical condition, which is said to be serious with the Christian leader suffering from urgent health problems, including a tumor.
“He has been in prison for 18 months now, and before that we sent him to Jordan to have some gammanite surgery done,” Jason Law told CP in a previous interview. “He had a tumor in his brain, and they believe that it is coming back. From our understanding, he is now in a prison hospital but is not really receiving the treatment and care that he needs.”
…
[Full Story]