US leaders still silent after new reports of Pastor Saeed Abedini’s beatings

Saeed Abedini, the jailed American pastor in Iran, has been “viciously beaten” by other prisoners, according to new details from the ACLJ. Even with over a dozen GOP presidential candidates, meetings with the family by the State Department and President Obama – there is silence from US leadership.

Abedini was punched in the face in what appears to be an unprovoked attack in the Iranian prison where he is being held as the American Center for Law and Justice said the prisoners also destroyed a small table that Abedini had been using to study and read.

Imprisoned for his faith, the Iranian government continues to abuse this Pastor while American politicians turn a blind eye to the abuse.

“As he was attacked, Pastor Saeed called out for help,” said ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow. “Iranian prison guards did intervene and prevent further injury. However, Pastor Saeed suffered injuries to his face—his eyes beaten black and blue. He was able to be seen briefly by a prison doctor, and thankfully he did not receive any broken bones.”

A family member also visited Abedini this week; that family member told Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh, about the beating.

“It is heartbreaking to me and my family that Saeed was again beaten in prison. Saeed’s life is continuously threatened not only because he is an American, but also because he is a convert from Islam to Christianity. It’s time to get Saeed home before it is too late,” Naghmeh Abedini said.

Saeed Abedini faces increased persecution because he refuses to deny his faith in Jesus Christ.

Naghmeh Abedini said, “The times they have moved him out of solitary [confinement] and the times they have threatened him, they said ‘You will stay here longer than the eight years and your only key to freedom is if you deny your Christian faith and you return to Islam.'”

Abedini, a former Iranian Muslim turned Christian, left Iran in 2005 and moved to the United States with his family. In 2012, he traveled back to Iran to build a state-approved orphanage when he was taken into custody.