Baptist Press - Iranian Pastor's Case Referred to Ayatollah

By SBCBaptistPress.org

The case of imprisoned Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani now has been referred to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, Agence France-Presse, a French news service, reported Oct. 10. . . .

"The step to involve the most powerful leader in Iran demonstrates that Iran is feeling the pressure," Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, said. "Involving the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a case before a regional court is unusual. We can be certain if the lies spread by Iran were true -- that Youcef was instead convicted of rape, extortion and Zionism -- the court would not seek the advice of the Supreme Ayatollah.

"Now that Iran's Supreme Leader will be considering the case, it is imperative that our top diplomat, Secretary of State Clinton, call for Pastor Youcef's unconditional release," Sekulow wrote in a post on the group's website Oct. 10.

More than 125,000 people had signed the petition asking Clinton to pressure Iran on behalf of the pastor, Sekulow said. Also, bipartisan support was growing in Congress with Reps. Joe Pitts, R.-Pa., and Heath Schuler, D.-N.C., writing a letter to Clinton urging her to intervene. . . .

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