Iran Pastor Yousef: Execution Halted as Supreme Court Promises 'Review' of Case (VIDEO)
The Iranian Supreme Court has promised to "review" the case of Iranian Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani who had previously been sentenced to die by hanging for not renouncing his faith in Jesus Christ.
Iran Pastor Execution Halted: Iranian Supreme Court Reopens CaseThe review could result in the release of Nadarkhani, although the court could equally decide to push forward with the execution as well.
Pastor Nadarkhani has been in Iran’s Lakan Prison for two years after having been found guilty of apostasy, despite the lack of a penal code governing the crime of converting to Christianity from Islam.
Worldwide outrage had leveled by various global leaders who are speaking out against the execution, including the former English Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, who asked President Ahmadinejad for his "urgent intervention" to save Pastor Nadarkhani.
“It appears that the court (that) sentenced Pastor Nadarkhani has chosen to impose a sentence which is beyond what is codified in the Iran Penal Code and contravenes both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and article 23 of the Iranian constitution," he said.
Most recent reports indicated that Iran’s Supreme Court took the unusual step of asking Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s highest religious and political leader, for his input into the case.
If Pastor Nadarkhani recanted his faith, he was told, and returned to Islam, the death sentence would be commuted. The pastor said no to denouncing Christ in each of his appeal hearings.
Everything surrounding the case is still uncertain. And, at this point, everyone is anxiously awaiting the outcome of these deliberations.
