ICC Note: Pastor Saeed Abedini, an Iranian American pastor, is now back in an Iranian prison. After having to spend time in a hospital for severe injuries, he was forcibly removed and beaten brutally then returned to prison. His parents stood helplessly by unable to do anything while their son was beaten.
By Jay Sekulow
05/22/2014 Iran (Fox News) – It happened without warning.
Tuesday, a heavily-armed contingent of Iranian guards stormed a private hospital in Tehran. The guards came for one purpose – to forcibly remove American Pastor Saeed Abedini from his hospital bed and take him back to prison.
Pastor Saeed, a U.S. citizen sentenced to an 8-year prison term in Iran because of his Christian faith, had spent two months at that hospital – a hopeful sign – a hospital room instead of a prison cell – where he received better treatment.
That came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. The Iranian guards did not just take Pastor Saeed into custody. No, they beat him severely. So severely that he passed out.
We know these details because all of this was witnessed by Pastor Saeed’s parents, who were visiting him when the guards stormed the hospital.
They were shocked and helpless. They could do nothing as the guards took their son back to Rajai Shahr Prison.
While we do know the details about this violent encounter, we still don’t know why this happened. The motive is unclear and no explanation was given by the guards.
For Pastor Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh, the news was devastating. “This came as a complete shock to our family. In some ways, hearing the news about his beating and return to prison was worse than getting the initial call nearly two years ago that Saeed was taken into custody. This is a very difficult time for us — not knowing what to expect. We continue to receive strength from the many people around the world who are praying for Saeed and our family.
Pastor Saeed has committed no crime. He is being punished because of his Christian faith. This latest turn of events is extremely disappointing and reveals the true brutality against Christians that is still very real and present in Iran.
With Pastor Saeed now back in prison and suffering from new injuries sustained from beatings this week, we have to sound the alarm. This is a critical time for Pastor Saeed.
Nearly 260,000 people from around the world are demanding that Iran release Pastor Saeed. Hundreds of thousands continue to pray for the Abedini family.…
