As many faithful Christians will know, an Evangelical pastor, the Revd Youcef Nadarkhani, has been in an Iranian prison for several months.
Recently, Richard Ibrahim, writing for Algemeiner.com, reported:
Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani continues to suffer in prison. Most recently, he rejected an offer to be released if he publicly acknowledged Islam’s prophet Muhammad as “a messenger sent by God,” which would amount to rejecting Christianity, as Muhammad/Koran reject it.
Today, a friend of mine forwarded me a set of documents which have been circulating around the world. I would like to ensure that as many of us as possible see — and forward — this appeal to anyone interested in writing their respective Iranian ambassador.
It transpires that Pastor Nadarkhani could be executed very soon. Jordan Sekulow from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) wrote the following on February 21, 2012:
We are hearing reports from our contacts in Iran that the execution orders for Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani may have been issued.
Pastor Youcef’s situation – an innocent man convicted and sentenced to death for becoming a Christian – has not been this dire since we first brought his case to your attention last year.
It is unclear whether Pastor Youcef would have a right of appeal from the execution order. We know that the head of Iran’s Judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, must approve publicly held executions, but only a small percentage of executions are held public—most executions in Iran are conducted in secret.
There has also been a disturbing increase in the number of executions conducted by the Iranian regime in the last month.
Iran is actively violating its human rights obligations by sentencing and detaining Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. We call on the Iranian government to release Pastor Youcef immediately.
We are continuing to work to help spare the life of Pastor Youcef, and will provide additional updates on his situation as we are able.
Please continue to pray, share his story, and call for his release.
The photo of the Nadarkhani family comes courtesy of the ACLJ. There is more on Pastor Nadarkhani’s story on that page.
Letters should be sent without delay to the relevant Iranian ambassador. What follows are embassy addresses for certain countries:
Embassy of Iran in Canberra in Australia
PO Box 705, Mawson ACT 2607
His Excellency Mr Mahmoud MOVAHHEDI
Ambassador
Embassy of Iran in Vienna in Austria
jauresgasse 9 – A1030 Wien
Fax: +431+7135733
Email:public@iranembassy-wien.at
The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Germany
Podbielskiallee 65/67,
14195 Berlin
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ireland
72 Mount Merrion Ave.
Blackrock Co.
Dublin, Ireland
Fax: (003531) 2834246
Email:iranembassy@indigo.ie
Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran to The Hague in the Netherlands
The Embassy of I.R. of Iran Duinweg 20 2585JX Den Haag
Web Site:http://www.iranianembassy.nl/
Email:info@iranembassy.nl
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan
St.No.2, Sector G-5/1 Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the UK
16 Prince’s Gate,
London SW7 1PT
Fax: ( +44)2075894440
Email:info@iran-embassy.org.uk
United States of America (Iran and the USA do not have diplomatic relations):
Representative Office of Iran in Washington, United States
c/o Embassy of Pakistan
2209 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington
D.C.20007
United States
Fax: +1-202-965-1073
Email: requests@daftar.org
A sample letter to the relevant Iranian ambassador follows:
Your Excellency,
Re: Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani
I wish to bring to your attention the urgent case of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani who was condemned to death in Iran for converting to the Christian faith. Recent indications are that there are grave concerns that Pastor Nadarkhani’s life is in danger.
I request that your government respect its international commitment to human rights, and that Pastor Nadarkhani, and all other persons in your country who are in similar situations, be treated in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which stipulates:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief …
“All people have the right to obey their conscience, which is a work of God, wherever that leads them. People in Islamic countries have as much right to convert to Christianity as westerners have to convert to Islam.”
I request that you pass on this appeal to the Iranian Government as a matter of urgency. Thank you for your attention to this request.
Yours sincerely,
For those of us not in a position to write, let us pray fervently that this pastor is given back his freedom and reunited with his family.
In any event, kindly share his story as a matter of urgency.
Thank you in advance for your kind attention, letters and prayers.
Churchmouse Campanologist 
9 comments
February 28, 2012 at 10:12 pm
lleweton
First class piece of summarising, Churchmouse. Must have been very hard work at a moment’s notice. Shows me how old I am. I’ll forward this to my contact in New Zealand.
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February 28, 2012 at 10:18 pm
churchmouse
Many thanks, Llew. I appreciate the compliment, considering that you were fortunate enough to have a career in journalism!
Thank you in advance for forwarding this to your contact — much appreciated.
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March 1, 2012 at 10:33 am
churchmouse
For readers in the UK who wish to write letters — I have received the following news by email:
‘Diplomatic relations between UK and Iran seem bruised or totally broken since last November.’
Therefore, to be better assured that your appeal message will be acted upon, it is recommended that you write your MP and ask that they forward your message to the Foreign Office.
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February 28, 2012 at 10:51 pm
Donald Philip Veitch
“On it” on my end. I’ve spread the word on Twitter and FB. Also, at the blog. Also, called Congressman Walter Jones, 3rd Dist-NC, US House of Representatives. Obama and our State Dept. have made public statements, although not nearly as strenuous as they ought have. Thanks Churchmouse.
An aside. A PA state Judge dismissed an assault case. There was a victim and two corroborrating witnesses to the assault by a Muslim, offended by the victim’s (distasteful for sure) portrayal of Muhammed in a public parade. Three witnesses, one of whom was a law enforcement officer, bore witness to choking with the hands and hitting. The Judge was a recent convert to Islam. I heard the audio of the proceedings. It’s getting significant play in some legal circles here. Unbelievable bias, judicial distemperment and–now–possible charges of judicial misconduct.
No Sharia-creep for U.S. federal, state or local laws.
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February 28, 2012 at 11:27 pm
churchmouse
Thank you very much for spreading the word so widely — very much appreciated! And many thanks for taking the time to ring a US congressman — great stuff! This is what Marines are made of. Shall look forward to more from the present Administration — Obama and (Hillary) Clinton.
As to the Pennsylvania case, confusion abounds. Agree with you wholeheartedly on ‘no Sharia-creep’ in the United States.
However, questions remain. Is Judge Martin a convert to Islam? On Opposing Views, Evi L. Bloggerlady states in the comments (page 1):
On her blog post, also dated February 26, she makes no mention of his Lutheranism. However, she does state:
Judge Martin also outlines his duty in Iraq and Afghanistan (which involved combat and seems very honorable and commendable) and states that he is not a Muslim.
The Lutheran part comes from an email — allegedly from the judge — to Volokh Conspiracy, wherein he supposedly states:
And, also from the same email, for what it’s worth:
Amazing to see an atheist actively and provocatively oppose Islam and a Protestant support it. I’m not sure what to think now! 😯 This is a puzzler. (Apologies for multiple edits.)
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March 5, 2012 at 10:10 am
BetterThanSacrifice
Churchmouse,
I started covering Youcef’s case back in June last year. It later came to my attention that he is probably non-Trinitarian. I endeavoured to clarify this with Present Truth Ministries (who have been covering his case for a very long time), without much success. You can see the results of my investigations here:
http://blog.betterthansacrifice.org/2011/06/30/iranian-pastor-facing-imminent-execution-for-apostasy/
Youcef’s beliefs – whether orthodox or not – do not change the abhorrent nature of the treatment by the Iranian regime of this courageous man, and we should continue to highlight his plight and campaign for his freedom. Nevertheless, one might wish to investigate further before embracing him unreservedly as a Christian brother. If, indeed, it turns out that he is non-Trinitarian, we can also pray for his salvation as well as his temporal freedom.
You may find the Mohabat News article, Is Nadarkhani an evangelical Christian; special report on non-Trinitatian cult, useful.
James White, and the Pyromaniacs blog, have also covered this.
Grace and peace.
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March 5, 2012 at 10:35 pm
churchmouse
Thank you — I also read that at the weekend. That said, we still owe our friend double prayers — not only for his release but for a full belief in the Trinity.
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March 6, 2012 at 3:31 pm
BetterThanSacrifice
Amen to that.
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March 6, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Pray for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani « A Pastor's Notes
[…] update: Churchmouse Campanologist (this includes addresses for sending letters in support of this […]
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