6 Months of Beatings, Torture, and Human Rights Violations

American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ)

Six months ago today, members of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard took American Pastor Saeed Abedini into custody and incarcerated him in Evin Prison.

The Revolutionary Guard burst into the home of Pastor Saeed’s parents, where Pastor Saeed had been on house arrest, and ripped him away to begin six months of what has now become an eight-year prison sentence in one of Iran’s most brutal prisons.

For six months, Pastor Saeed has endured beatings, torture, psychological torment, and the misery of utter seclusion from his wife and two young children here in America.

As his wife, Naghmeh, said on Fox News this morning, his internal bleeding has reached a “critical” stage.

The immense torture and abuse Pastor Saeed has endured has taken a tremendous toll on his body, but has not quieted his spirits. He wrote in a recent letter that after the constant beatings, “I did not recognize myself.” With amazing resilience of faith, he continued, “I forgave the prison doctor who did not listen to me and did not give me the medication that I needed. I forgave the interrogator who beat me.”

Yet, this inhuman treatment at the hands of his Iranian captors has not gone unnoticed on the world stage. Last week Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement, demanding that Pastor Saeed – a U.S. citizen – receive medical treatment and be “immediately released.”

Over the past several weeks we have seen the international outcry on Pastor Saeed’s behalf raised to new levels. Pastor Saeed’s case was raised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran. The 27-member state European Union demanded his release and Australia called attention to his situation at the U.N.

Leaders in Brazil have also spoken out, demanding Iran, a nation with which they have diplomatic relations, release this Christian pastor.

Now that America’s top diplomat has spoken out, demanding Iran release Pastor Saeed, it is imperative that the focus turn to Iran.

The human rights abuses of this pastor, father, husband, and U.S. citizen must cease. The call of over half a million people worldwide will continue to ring out until Iran releases Pastor Saeed and he is free to return to his wife and children in America.