Mystery shrouds the abolition of the death
sentence of an Iranian Pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, a convert to
Christianity, which was announced in recent days.
Christian sources in
Iran have stated that the Supreme Court had overturned the conviction of
the evangelical leader, but asked for his return to Islam as a
precondition.
And there is still no written confirmation of the Supreme
Court decision to accept the pastor ‘s appeal against the death sentence
for apostasy.
The situation is complicated by the fact that Youcef Nadarkhani’s lawyer, Moahammad Ali Dadkhah should have received written notice of the decision in recent days.
The situation is complicated by the fact that Youcef Nadarkhani’s lawyer, Moahammad Ali Dadkhah should have received written notice of the decision in recent days.
But Dadkhah, one of the founders of the Center
for Defense of Human Rights along with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi is
in a difficult legal position. On July 3, a Tehran court sentenced him
to nine years in prison and 10 years of banishment from university and
the teaching profession, "for actions contrary to the Islamic regime and
propaganda."
Dadkhah has 20 days to appeal, but fears that he might be
arrested in the coming days.
Iranian civil law does not provide the crime of apostasy, even if authorities have discussed passing such a law for some time.
Iranian civil law does not provide the crime of apostasy, even if authorities have discussed passing such a law for some time.
In the case
of Pastor Nadarkhani, which has been described as "distorted" and
"extrajudicial", it seems that there was political pressure on judges,
who were divided on the sentence.
The court apparently used art. 167 of
the Iranian Constitution, which states that if the judges do not find
the basis for a decision in civil law then they should "cite Islamic
reliable sources or a valid fatwa to arrive at a judgement and issue a
verdict."
Pastor Nadarkhani Youcef, a member of the Church of Iran, was arrested Oct. 13, 2009 in the city of Rasht as he tried to legally register his church.
Pastor Nadarkhani Youcef, a member of the Church of Iran, was arrested Oct. 13, 2009 in the city of Rasht as he tried to legally register his church.
It is believed that his arrest was caused by his position,
critical of the Islamic religious monopoly on the education of children
in Iran.
He was initially accused of protests, but later the charges
were changed into that of apostasy and the evangelization of Muslims.