This is very good news. Extremely surprising, but good. Iranian Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani who was on death row for apostasy has been released!
Let's see how long it takes before the mullahs drag him back to jail. Hopefully he will leave the country.
Nadarkhani’s lawyer told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that his client had been acquitted of apostasy and freed on September 8.
The lawyer said Nadarkhani who had been held since 2009 had been sentenced to three years imprisonment for proselytizing Muslims but he was released because he had already served the term.
The State Department said in a statement that, despite this "welcome news," the status of religious freedom in Iran remains "grave."
The statement added that many more Iranians remain in prison and face persecution simply because of their faith.
The U.S. said it will continue to stand with the people of Iran who struggle to have their fundamental human rights respected.
Here's a little background on Youcef.
Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht after he questioned the Muslim monopoly of religious instruction for children, which he felt was unconstitutional.
He was sentenced to death for apostasy the following year. Then in 2011, the Supreme Court said the charges would be dropped if he converted to Islam, something Pastor Nadarkhani refused to do.
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