U.S. Pastor Moved to More Dangerous Jail in Iran

U.S. Pastor Moved to More Dangerous Jail in Iran

American pastor Saeed Abedini has been transferred from a prison in Tehran to another prison known for housing violent criminals — and his supporters fear for his life.

Abedini is serving an eight-year sentence on charges of endangering national security. But supporters say he was in Iran working to build an orphanage with permission from the Iranian government, and his wife maintains he is being punished for converting from Islam to Christianity.

After spending more than a year in Tehran's Evin Prison, where he was surrounded by political prisoners, he has been unexpectedly moved to the Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. Now he is reportedly penned in a 10-by-10-foot cell with five inmates who were likely imprisoned for murder or rape.

Rajai Shahr is considered to be one of Iran's most brutal prisons because of reports of torture, rape, and murder, according to British Newspaper The Guardian.

Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing Abedini, told the New York Daily News: "He could easily be killed not by formal execution but by a fellow inmate. That's why we are so concerned right now about his safety and survival."

Abedini's family in Iran arrived at Evin Prison on Nov. 4 for their weekly visit, only to be told that Saeed had been moved. They spent 90 minutes driving to Karaj but were informed that he was not permitted to have visitors.

His wife Naghmeh, who lives in Boise, Idaho, with the couple's two children, said in a statement: "I am devastated and I do not know what to tell my children. I am more concerned now about his safety than at any other time during his imprisonment. I can only imagine the torment and anguish he is experiencing."

As Newsmax reported in September, Naghmeh Abedini approached Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a hotel lobby in New York, where Rouhani was attending a United Nations meeting, and handed an aide a letter Abedini had written to the president pleading for his release.

Also in September, President Obama questioned Rouhani about Abedini's imprisonment during a phone call.

"Iran must release Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen wrongly imprisoned for his faith," said Sekulow, whose organization is now calling for Obama to speak out "directly and forcefully" to save Abedini's life.

Insider Report from Newsmax.com