'Tweet for Youcef' Keeps Spotlight on Iranian Pastor Nadarkhani
In an effort to ensure the court case of Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani stay in the international spotlight, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has taken to the social media platform Twitter to maintain public awareness for Nadarkhani's plight.
The ACLJ is sponsoring the "Tweet for Youcef" campaign. The Twitter application would allow the ACLJ to send a daily tweet regarding Youcef Nadarkhani via another user's account.
The tweet would entail the number of days Nadarkhani has been imprisoned, facts about his court case, and a link back to the ACLJ's Nadarkhani information page. The tweet would end in "Via OfficialACLJ."
This is just one way human rights watchdogs are attempting to keep Nadarkhani's case in the public eye. Other organizations, including The Voice of the Martyrs USA, offers those following Nadarkhani's case the opportunity to write to him, offering him words of encouragement.
"The good news is that he has really stood firm in his faith, and the other good news is that the world is still paying attention," Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development at The Voice of the Martyrs, previously told The Christian Post.
Nadarkhani's case has also received a large amount of international pressure.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Europe Union, 89 members of Congress, France, Great Britain Mexico, and Germany have all publicly condemned Iran for holding Nadarkhani, and have demanded his swift release.
Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor, was arrested in Oct. 2009 for protesting the teaching of Islam at his children's school. His charges were later changed to apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims.
Nadarkhani has been repeatedly asked to renounce his Christian faith, but the pastor continues to hold true to his belief in Jesus Christ.
After much international pressure, Iran passed the case on to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for final review, where the case now sits, awaiting a verdict.
Today marks Nadarkhani's 840th day of imprisonment.
