Washington D.C., Dec 27, 2013 / 09:19 am (CNA/
EWTN News).- A congressional hearing about
Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in
Iran, produced more calls for his speedy release
and warnings that his situation reflects Iran’s
continued poor human rights record.
“The plight of Pastor Saeed’s imprisonment is not
isolated, but is symptomatic of the Iranian regime’s
hostility to religious minorities,” warned Rep. Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chair of the House
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
She co-sponsored the joint Dec. 12 hearing titled
“Iran’s Persecution of American Pastor Abedini.”
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs a House
subcommittee that includes global human rights
issues, stressed the urgency of the pastor’s case.
“Time is running out,” he warned, noting the brutal
conditions facing Abedini and other prisoners in
Iran, including a denial of basic medical care.
Rep. Smith cautioned that the U.S. government
“must not waste another opportunity to secure the
release of Pastor Abedini.” He asked that the
pastor’s release “be front and center in the next
round of U.S.-Iranian negotiations.”
Pastor Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran since
September 2012. The Iranian government has
charged him with compromising national security.
The pastor’s supporters say he is being imprisoned
for his Christian beliefs.
He was arrested during a visit to help non-religious
orphanages in Iran. He shifted to orphanage work in
2009 after previously working with legal house
churches until government authorities objected to
his work.
Abedini, who was born in Iran and raised as a
Muslim, converted to Christianity in 2000. He
became a U.S. citizen in 2010 following his
marriage to his wife Naghmeh, who is also a U.S.
citizen.
He has now been moved to a prison with a
reputation for having brutal guards and violent
prisoners.
At the Dec. 12 hearing, several speakers called for
Iran to protect human rights, especially religious
freedom.
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen criticized Iran’s government.
“This is a country that won’t respect other
freedoms,” she said. While Iran’s new president
Hassan Rouhani promised a more open and tolerant
government, “it has utterly failed” to protect human
rights.
She said that executions have “accelerated,”
reaching 300 since August alone.
“If this administration does not hold Iran
accountable then no one will,” the congresswoman
stated.
Other congressmen at the hearing explained that
trust between the United States and Iran must
include respect for human rights.
“If Iran expects to participate in a more open and
honest relationship with the U.S,” said Rep. Steve
Chabot (R-Ohio), it should “adopt standards and
practices adopted by most of the civilized world”
and abide by international human rights
agreements. He said Pastor Abedini’s release
“must be a priority” and should have been a
condition for talks about Iran’s nuclear program.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said that the
imprisoned pastor’s situation violated “the
foundation of trust.” If Iran were to release Abedini,
he continued, it would signal good faith negotiations
and help the success of nuclear talks.
Another speaker, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), said
Iran “continues to flagrantly defy basic human
rights.” He stressed that while nuclear deals are
very important, “it must not impact our support for
human rights.” He urged the U.S. government to do
“everything it can” to help free Abedini as well as
Amir Hekmati and Robert Levinson.
Hekmati is a U.S. citizen who has been held in Iran
for two years on charges of espionage, ABC News
reports.
Levinson is a Florida man and retired FBI agent who
has been imprisoned for over six years. Although
his family and the U.S. State Department say he
was on a business trip to Iran as a private
investigator seeking to learn more about cigarette
smuggling, the Washington Post and the Associated
Press have reported that he was working for the
CIA.
Witnesses testifying on behalf of Abedini also spoke
on the relationship between the support of human
rights and foreign policy.
Katrina Lantos Swett, vice chair of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom and
the daughter of the late long-time congressman
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), said that linking human
rights to other policy goals strengthens U.S. foreign
policy.
She urged that the United States “continue to
sanction human rights abusers.” She called on
Americans to ensure that the topics of human rights
and religious freedom are “elevated in the public
discourse.”
Daniel Calingaert, the executive vice president of
Freedom House, also testified. He said he was
concerned that improving relationships between
Iran and Western nations would “divert the world’s
attention from the increasing mistreatment of
Christians and other religious minorities throughout
the nation.”
“When we stand silent, we send a message that we
do not care,” Calingaert insisted.
“Iran’s record on human rights does not improve
when the United States stands silent.”
Tags: Iran, Pastor Abedini , Saeed Abedini
EWTN News).- A congressional hearing about
Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in
Iran, produced more calls for his speedy release
and warnings that his situation reflects Iran’s
continued poor human rights record.
“The plight of Pastor Saeed’s imprisonment is not
isolated, but is symptomatic of the Iranian regime’s
hostility to religious minorities,” warned Rep. Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chair of the House
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
She co-sponsored the joint Dec. 12 hearing titled
“Iran’s Persecution of American Pastor Abedini.”
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs a House
subcommittee that includes global human rights
issues, stressed the urgency of the pastor’s case.
“Time is running out,” he warned, noting the brutal
conditions facing Abedini and other prisoners in
Iran, including a denial of basic medical care.
Rep. Smith cautioned that the U.S. government
“must not waste another opportunity to secure the
release of Pastor Abedini.” He asked that the
pastor’s release “be front and center in the next
round of U.S.-Iranian negotiations.”
Pastor Abedini has been imprisoned in Iran since
September 2012. The Iranian government has
charged him with compromising national security.
The pastor’s supporters say he is being imprisoned
for his Christian beliefs.
He was arrested during a visit to help non-religious
orphanages in Iran. He shifted to orphanage work in
2009 after previously working with legal house
churches until government authorities objected to
his work.
Abedini, who was born in Iran and raised as a
Muslim, converted to Christianity in 2000. He
became a U.S. citizen in 2010 following his
marriage to his wife Naghmeh, who is also a U.S.
citizen.
He has now been moved to a prison with a
reputation for having brutal guards and violent
prisoners.
At the Dec. 12 hearing, several speakers called for
Iran to protect human rights, especially religious
freedom.
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen criticized Iran’s government.
“This is a country that won’t respect other
freedoms,” she said. While Iran’s new president
Hassan Rouhani promised a more open and tolerant
government, “it has utterly failed” to protect human
rights.
She said that executions have “accelerated,”
reaching 300 since August alone.
“If this administration does not hold Iran
accountable then no one will,” the congresswoman
stated.
Other congressmen at the hearing explained that
trust between the United States and Iran must
include respect for human rights.
“If Iran expects to participate in a more open and
honest relationship with the U.S,” said Rep. Steve
Chabot (R-Ohio), it should “adopt standards and
practices adopted by most of the civilized world”
and abide by international human rights
agreements. He said Pastor Abedini’s release
“must be a priority” and should have been a
condition for talks about Iran’s nuclear program.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said that the
imprisoned pastor’s situation violated “the
foundation of trust.” If Iran were to release Abedini,
he continued, it would signal good faith negotiations
and help the success of nuclear talks.
Another speaker, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), said
Iran “continues to flagrantly defy basic human
rights.” He stressed that while nuclear deals are
very important, “it must not impact our support for
human rights.” He urged the U.S. government to do
“everything it can” to help free Abedini as well as
Amir Hekmati and Robert Levinson.
Hekmati is a U.S. citizen who has been held in Iran
for two years on charges of espionage, ABC News
reports.
Levinson is a Florida man and retired FBI agent who
has been imprisoned for over six years. Although
his family and the U.S. State Department say he
was on a business trip to Iran as a private
investigator seeking to learn more about cigarette
smuggling, the Washington Post and the Associated
Press have reported that he was working for the
CIA.
Witnesses testifying on behalf of Abedini also spoke
on the relationship between the support of human
rights and foreign policy.
Katrina Lantos Swett, vice chair of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom and
the daughter of the late long-time congressman
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), said that linking human
rights to other policy goals strengthens U.S. foreign
policy.
She urged that the United States “continue to
sanction human rights abusers.” She called on
Americans to ensure that the topics of human rights
and religious freedom are “elevated in the public
discourse.”
Daniel Calingaert, the executive vice president of
Freedom House, also testified. He said he was
concerned that improving relationships between
Iran and Western nations would “divert the world’s
attention from the increasing mistreatment of
Christians and other religious minorities throughout
the nation.”
“When we stand silent, we send a message that we
do not care,” Calingaert insisted.
“Iran’s record on human rights does not improve
when the United States stands silent.”
Tags: Iran, Pastor Abedini , Saeed Abedini
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