IBTimes - Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Convicted of Religious Charges, Iran Admits

By Daniel Tovrov, IBTimes.com

For the first time since his arrest in 2009, Iran has admitted publicly that Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been convicted of religious crimes. . . .

Tiffany Barrans, the International Legal Director at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said the Iranian representative to the council was responding to the presentation of a new report by Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, who used the platform to call for Nadakhani's release. . . .

Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, as the country's representative body is known, declined comment for this story; however, Iranian human rights chief Mohammad-Javad Larijani called Shaheed's charges baseless in a statement and attacked both his methods and his person. . . .

You can read the entire story here.