Iranian prison guards threaten to extend sentence for U.S. pastor, wife claims

The wife of an American pastor locked up in Iran said prison guards have repeatedly threatened to extend the sentence for her husband, who was detained in 2012 over his Christian faith.

 

Naghmeh Abedini said her husband, 34-year-old Saeed Abedini, lives in constant fear of having his eight-year sentence increased for allegedly preaching his religion inside the Islamic republic.

 

“The urgency of getting my husband home has never felt so real,” Naghmeh Abedini told FoxNews.com Monday. “His physical and psychological strength has been greatly weakened throughout his imprisonment. The lack of clean water and good nutrition have taken a toll on Saeed’s physical well-being.”

 

“Guards have repeatedly told him that the price of his freedom is denying Christ and returning to Islam – and yet, Saeed’s faith in Christ remains strong,” she said.

 

Abedini, a U.S. citizen and father of two from Idaho, has been held in Iran for two and a half years after being accused of proselytizing in the Islamic republic. The American Center for Law and Justice and Abedini’s family have pleaded with the U.S. and UN officials to secure his release — including a meeting between Naghmeh Abedini and President Obama earlier this year in Idaho that renewed hope for the family…

 

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