Iranian Supreme Court upholds death sentence of man on charge of "apostasy"

On June 28th, the Supreme Court of Iran rejected the appeal of Yousef Naderkhani against his death sentence and upheld his conviction and the sentence.

According to HRANA, Yousef Naderkhani is accused of abandoning Islam and converting to Christianity at the age of 19. According to judicial authorities, he has been preaching and propagating Christianity since his conversion.

He was sentenced to death by branch 11 of the Gilan (province in Iran) Judiciary for "apostasy and preaching Christianity" to his Muslim compatriots.

Yousef Naderkhani has been imprisoned since October 12, 2009.

If the execution is conducted, it will be the first execution of such a [charge] in 20 years. The last [person executed on a similar charge] was Hossein Soudmand. he was hanged in a prison in Mashhad (capital city of the Khorasan province) on December 3, 1990 for insisting on his Christian beliefs. Hossein Soudmand is the only priest/preacher who has been officially executed by Iranian authorities for refusing to deny his Christian beliefs.

Source: Persian2English, July 1, 2011

Death Sentence Upheld for Christian Citizen Yousef Naderkhani

The death sentence of the Iranian Christian convert Yousef Naderkhani has been upheld by the appeals court on the charge of apostasy.

The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for christian citizen Yousef Naderkhani. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, Naderkhani who has converted to Christianity at the age of 19, has allegedly engaged in christian propaganda. He has been sentenced to death for apostasy and advertising the Christian faith to Muslims.

His fellow Christians refer to him as Pastor and he has been imprisoned since October of 2009. If his execution sentenec is carried out, he will be the 1st person executed for apostasy in the past 20 years.

In September 1990, Pastor Hossein Soodmand was executed in Mashhad due to his insistence on keeping his belief in the Christian faith.

Naderkhani, 35, is a father of 2 children. His wife Fatemeh Pasandideh was also arrested and later acquitted of the charges.

Source: Rahana, July 1, 2011

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