Iranian Pastor Freed

Youcef Nagarkhani (b. 1977, Iran), a pastor of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran, was released three days ago after spending the last three years in an Iranian prison under the threat of a death sentence.  What was his crime?  Pastor Nadarkhani was originally charged with the capital crime of apostasy; leaving Islam to follow another religion.  The punishment in Iran for apostasy is death.  Though apostasy is not officially a crime in Iran, judges may still level the charge against a person based on religious fatwas.  Nadarkani insisted that he was never a Muslim; even though he was raised in a Muslim family, he never accepted Islam and, instead, became a Christian as a teenager.  He steadfastly refused to convert to Islam.

Youcef Ndarkhani's wife, Fatemah Pasandideh, was also arrested and charged with apostasy.  She received a sentence of life imprisonment but was released after four months.

International criticism of the charges against Pastor Nadarkani was raised loudly from around the world.
United States president barack Obama said, "The United States condemns the conviction of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.  Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people."  The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, also condemned the sentence.

During the three years of his imprisonment, the charges continued to change and eventually included charges of rape, extortion, and baptizing converts.  The charges, in the end, became that Nadarkhani had attempted to evangelize Muslims.  The penalty for this crime was set at three years and the pastor was released for the time he had already served in prison.

Christians around the world are rejoicing that their prayers for Youcef Nadarkhani's safe release have been answered.  Pastor Nadarkhani is to be admired for his absolute refusal to betray his faith.