By Daniel D. Tovrov: Subscribe to Daniel's RSS feed
September 29, 2011 6:06 PM EDT
The word "conviction" has two meanings, both of which are presently on display in Iran, where Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani waits to hear if and when he will be hanged.
Nadarkhani, convicted of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, has epitomized the word with his conviction of faith. When given the option of abandoning his beliefs to save his life, the pastor refused, defiant and fearful, but apparently willing to die for his religion.
"[Nadarkhani] was brought to court to repent for three days. He denied repentance on all three days," Nadarkhani's lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah told the International Campaign for Human Rights.
Pastor Nadarkhani, who led a 400-person congregation in Rasht just a few years ago, was arrested on apostasy charges in 2009. He was found guilty of the crime of abandoning Islam and sentenced to death a year later.
His final appeal was on Wednesday -- his last chance to absolve himself of the ordeal. The Iranian court has not said if Nadarkhani will be executed, but what is clear is that rumors about a potential commuting of the sentence appear to be false.
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"I said in my last defense that his execution is not an appropriate and legal action from the viewpoint of Sharia Law, our own laws, and international laws, and I believe that the court accepted my opinion," said Dadkhah. "I hope the court will vote for his acquittal and he will be released in the coming week.
"The Judge kept asking my client to say, 'I have renounced Christianity and I recognize Islam as rescinder of all other regions,' and he kept saying 'I won't say that.'"
Apostasy is not officially part of Iran's legal code, but it is punishable under religious texts and the fatwas decreed by Ayatollah Khomeini. If Nadarkhani is executed for the crime, he will be the first person killed for apostasy in more than 20 years.
Publically, Iran has positioned itself as a tolerant advocate of human rights. The Islamic Republic is a signatory on the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the country wrote in freedom of religion into its constitution.
Nonetheless, religious persecution is sadly not an uncommon event in Iran.
"The reality is as a Christian you don't have the rights of other Iranians. The actions and the basic policy toward evangelicals go against the rhetoric that they use for the country," David Yeghnazar, the U.S. director of Iranian church organization Elam Ministries, told the IBTimes.
"Here we are in 2011 and we're talking about a man being killed for his beliefs. We need to ask Iran how they can be willing to break the charter they've signed and their constitution. The government must answer to the people," Yeghnazar said.
Despite Christianity's protected status in the country, in the last six months of 2010 at least 202 people were arrested for their religious beliefs, according to Elam. Additioanally, at least 100 more have been detained so far this year.
Last December, a group of 25 Christians in Tehran were arrested the night after Christmas by plainclothes security officers. About half were freed after an interrogation, while the others remained in custody without legal representation.
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