World Mag - Naghmeh Abedini to Congress: ‘I Felt Abandoned’
By J.C. DERRICK, WorldMag.com
The comments came at a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of imprisoned American citizen and pastor Saeed Abedini, headlined the panel of witnesses, telling members, “I felt abandoned,” when learning that U.S. negotiators didn’t ask for her husband’s release before or during the recent talks. . . .
Thursday’s hearing came two days after Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., grilled Secretary of State John Kerry on why the United States engaged in extensive talks with Iran without raising Saeed’s plight. Smith told me afterward that he was assuming Kerry would say they had tried and was shocked to learn they never asked. . . .
The Abedinis’ attorney, Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), told lawmakers he’s not sure whom to believe. He urged them to accept Kerry’s offer to brief them on what the State Department is doing to secure Saeed’s release. . .