persecution Archives - Colin Dye

Iran moves American pastor into solitary confinement; possible organ failure

Colin Dye — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:42:43 +0000

The American pastor jailed in Iran for his faith has been placed in solitary confinement and may now be suffering organ failure, according to family members in Iran who are increasingly alarmed at his deteriorating health.

Nagameh Adedini seen here in this undated photo with husband Pastor Saeed Abedini.

Saeed Abedini, the 32-year-old Christian and American citizen who is serving an eight-year prison term in Iran, was put in solitary confinement following a ?peaceful, silent protest? in an outside courtyard at Iran?s notoriously brutal Evin prison, according to family members. Conditions at the prison prompted Abedini and other prisoners to sign a petition decrying the lack of medical care and the threats and harsh treatment facing family members who come to visit.

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Pastor Saeed Abedini Praying for Boston Bombing Victims From Iranian Prison

Colin Dye — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:45:32 +0000

American Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen who is suffering from serious injuries at the hands of his Iranian captors, told family members today he is praying for America in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Beaten American Pastor Saeed Prays for America in Wake of Boston Bombings as Medical Care for Him Delayed

During a brief visit with family members today, Pastor Saeed reported that he is suffering intense pain as a result? of untreated internal bleeding ? injuries he sustained from repeated beatings and torture in Iran.
Iranian prison authorities have told Pastor Saeed that he will not receive any medical treatment for his injuries for another two months.
Even as his medical condition worsens, Pastor Saeed told family members he had heard about the terrorist bombings in Boston on the prison radio, expressed his concern, and told them he is praying for the victims and their families during this very challenging time for our nation.
Pastor Saeed became an American citizen on March 11, 2010, and his wife told a Congressional panel last month that becoming an American citizen was one of the proudest moments in his life.
In another example of the emotional and physiological torture Iran has imposed upon Pastor Saeed, he was recently taken to a hospital only to be turned away and returned to his prison cell untreated. He was then beaten again.
Read more here

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Pastor Saeed's Condition Worsens in Iranian Prison – Severely Beaten, Fainting From Internal Bleeding

Colin Dye — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:32:52 +0000

The American Center for Law and Justice received news that U.S. pastor Saeed Abedini has been severely beaten in Evin Prison in Tehran, denied proper medical care, and experiencing fainting spells.

Pastor Saeed’s Condition Worsens in Iranian Prison – Severely Beaten, Fainting From Internal Bleeding

It began last week. American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who is serving an eight-year prison term in Iran because of his Christian faith, has been suffering from internal bleeding for months – injuries received from the beatings in prison. In what could only be viewed as a cruel act of psychological abuse, prison officials took Pastor Saeed to a hospital last week – only to be turned away – and brought back to Evin prison without receiving medical treatment for his internal bleeding.
Now, comes word out of Iran, that the beatings and physical abuse are intensifying. Pastor Saeed reported today that last week he was severely beaten the same day?the prison officials took him to the hospital. During the weekly prison visit today, Pastor Saeed’s family reported that his physical condition is worsening – seeing first-hand the marks and symptoms left by the recent beating. These beatings and the internal injuries are causing Pastor Saeed frequent fainting spells.? Iranian officials are telling Pastor Saeed it could be an additional two months before he will receive medical treatment. Such a delay is inhumane and a gross violation of Iran?s international obligations.

Continue to pray for Pastor Saeed. You can also send a letter of support by going to SaveSaeed.org.

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Pastor Saeed Abedini Given Ultimatum: 'Deny Christ or Face Longer Prison Time'

Colin Dye — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:42:03 +0000

Iranian officials are now threatening American Pastor Saeed Abedini that he will be held longer than his eight-year sentence unless he recants his faith.

Pastor Saeed Abedini Given Ultimatum- ‘Deny Christ or Face Longer Prison Time’

We have just obtained a new letter from Pastor Saeed, dated March 9th, where he talks about the humiliation and psychological torture he undergoes on a daily basis.
In this new letter, he writes:

?Deny your faith in Jesus Christ and return to Islam or else you will not be released from prison. We will make sure you are kept here even after your 8 year sentence is finished.? These are the threats that prison officials throw at me.
My response to them is Romans 8:35-39. The reality of Christian living is that difficulties or problems do arise in our lives. Persecution and difficulties are not new occurrences, but are seen often in the Christian life.? It is through the suffering and tribulations that we are to enter the Kingdom of God.

He closes the letter: “Pastor Saeed Abedini, the servant and slave of Jesus Christ in chains, with a lot of joy to see you soon. Evin Prison 9th March 2013.”
It is clear that Pastor Saeed?s faith is what is keeping him alive ? sustaining him ? as the mental and physical abuse he suffers at the hands of the brutal Islamic regime weakens his body.
The U.S. State Department, Secretary of State John Kerry and the European Union have all called for the pastor’s release, and over 550,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending him support.
“Pastor Saeed is refusing to deny Christ. We must let him know that we will never forget him and will never stop working for his release,” the ACLJ has said.
The law group also started a letter-writing campaign?for Abedini’s birthday on May 7, hoping that all the notes will “flood” Evin Prison. Those who wish to add their letter to the 20,000 already written can do so by going to SaveSaeed.org.

Pastor Saeed Abedini Being Pressured to Deny Christ in Iranian Jail

Colin Dye — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:20:34 +0000

Pastor Saeed Abedini, the American pastor serving an 8-year sentence in Tehran, Iran, is being pressured into converting back to Islam, but he has said that that will never happen.

Pastor Saeed Abedini, his wife Naghmeh and his two children in this undated family photo.

“After all of these pressures, after all of the nails they have pressed against my hands and feet, they are only waiting for one thing?for me to deny Christ,” Abedini wrote in a letter obtained by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), who is representing his wife and two children back in America.
The pastor, however, has said that “they will never get this from me,” and expressed his gratitude to the over 260,000 people who have signed a petition?calling for his release.
Jordan Sekulow, ACLJ Executive Director, said that he hopes that number will climb to 300,000 before his organization meets with U.N. Human Rights officials on March 5.
“Now is the time to redouble our efforts to save this courageous pastor, this U.S. citizen, from the darkness of an Iranian prison,” Sekulow wrote.
The Iranian-born pastor is currently serving an eight year sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran, where he has been held since his arrest in September 2012. The Iranian court convicted him of endangering national security, but the ACLJ say that the real reason behind the trial was that Abedini has helped many Christians in underground churches in Iran since his conversion to Christianity in 2000.

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China's Plan to Eradicate House Churches Sees Dramatic Increase in Persecution

Colin Dye — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:49:00 +0000

China’s Christians felt a noticeable rise in persecution in 2012 as the Communist government began the first of a three-phase plan to eradicate unregistered house churches, a new report says.

A house church in China- their existence is threatened.

Cases of persecution of Christians rose by about 42 percent last year compared with 2011, according to the report by human rights group China Aid. With the number of persecuted Christians rising by roughly 14 percent and detentions by nearly 12 percent, overall persecution was about 13 percent worse than in 2011 ? though China Aid termed its statistics just “the tip of the iceberg.”
At least 132 cases of persecution affecting 4,919 Christians ? 442 of whom were clergy ? were reported in the country last year, according to China Aid’s annual report. The Texas-based group tracked detention of at least 1,441 Christians, the sentencing of nine of them, and the abuse ? verbal, mental and physical, including beatings and torture ? of 37 Christians.

Read more

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Christians in Syria Fleeing Country as Crisis Reaches 'Unprecedented Levels of Horror'

Colin Dye — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:41:47 +0000

As the civil war in Syria has reached “unprecedented levels of horror,” according to the U.N., Christians are being forced to flee their homes as avoiding the violent conflict has become less of an option.

“It’s a fight to the death which by definition involves killing. No one will win but those who fought from the start will create a desert and then call it victory,” Sky News?said of the war raging between army forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad and rebels bent on taking down what they say is a tyrannical regime.

Person-dead-lifted-in-Syria-today-

The Christians are in the most precarious position. There are Christian enclaves but they are scattered around the country and many have been overrun by opposition or government forces.
Elements in the opposition forces have desecrated and burnt churches in the northern half of Syria. Priests have been murdered,? and Christian civilians forced to flee, just as thousands of others have fled in the face of government forces.
There is now a slow exodus of Christians which may become a flood if the Islamist side of the opposition to Mr Assad becomes the dominant force in Syria.

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British Woman Wins Landmark Religious Freedom Case, 3 Other Cases Rejected

Colin Dye — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:47:52 +0000

Europe’s human rights court ruled in favor of a woman claiming to have been fired for failing to remove a cross necklace while she was working in what has widely been seen as a landmark judgment.

Rulings- Lilian Ladele, left, and nadia Eweida

Nadia Eweida, 60, who worked at a check-in desk for British Airways at Heathrow Airport, claimed that she was forced out of her British Airways job in 2006 for refusing to cover or remove her cross necklace.
British Airways argued that wearing the necklace was in violation of company uniform dress codes.
The case made it to the European Court of Human Rights after the case was rejected by an employment tribunal, The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Lawyers representing Eweida argued that the airlines’ actions were in conflict with both articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibit religious discrimination while allowing the universal right of “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
The judgment was published in Strasbourg, France and stated that Eweida’s right to wear the cross necklace outweighed British Airline’s attempt to “project a certain corporate image.”

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Family Sentenced to 15 Years In Prison for Converting to Christianity in Egypt

Colin Dye — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:31:01 +0000

A criminal court in Egypt has sentenced a family of eight in Beni-Suef to 15 years in prison for converting to Christianity and changing their place of residence. The court also sentenced seven employees in the local authority of Beni-Suef’s city of Beba to five years in prison.

Family Sentenced to 15 Years In Prison for Converting to Christianity in Mohammed Morsi’s Egypt

The court, headed by Judge Ashraf abdel-Naby Shahin and Judge Tamer abdel-Rahman, sentenced Nadia Mohamed Ali and her children Mohab, Maged, Sherif, Amira, Amir, and Nancy Ahmed Mohamed abdel-Wahab to 15 years in prison.
They also sentenced Nabil Adly Hana, Ayad Naguib Ayad, Hany Bebawy Reyad, Amgad Awad Bebawy, Shehata Wahba Ghobrial, Mohamed Oweis abdel-Gawad, and Mohamed abdel-Fatah el-Berawy to five years in prison.

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Persecution Surge Among African Countries

Colin Dye — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:32:34 +0000

In some of the most dangerous and restrictive countries in the world, Christians suffer interrogation, arrest and even death, for their faith.

This file photo shows a sign pointing towards a church burned down by riots in northern Nigeria.

Persecution of Christians in Africa vastly increased in 2012, according to the Open Doors 2013 World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians face persecution for their faith.
Open Doors, an organization that supports persecuted Christians worldwide, states that this increase is mainly due to the increasing influence of Islam.
As three of its northern regions have fallen into the hands of ‘al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’ (AQIM) and its local allies, Mali is a newcomer on the list and holds the No. 7 position.
It is widely believed that these Islamist extremists are planning to kill all Christians in Mali.

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