Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani refused to renounce his faith at his final court hearing. The judges may take up to a week on whether they will apply the death penalty, but they may decide much sooner.
K-Lo reported on John Boehner’s statement urging “Iran’s leaders to abandon this dark path, spare Yousef Nadarkhani’s life, and grant him a full and unconditional release.”
Today, British foreign secretary William Hague said, “I deplore reports that Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Church leader, could be executed imminently after refusing an order by the Supreme Court of Iran to recant his faith. This demonstrates the Iranian regime’s continued unwillingness to abide by its constitutional and international obligations to respect religious freedom. I pay tribute to the courage shown by Pastor Nadarkhani who has no case to answer and call on the Iranian authorities to overturn his sentence.”
— Paul Marshall is senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and co-author, with Nina Shea, of Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedoms Worldwide (Oxford University Press, November 2011).