A Twisted Crown of Thorns ®

Remember Youcef Nadarkhani, the pastor from Rasht, about 750 miles northwest of Tehran, who was arrested in October 2009?  Well the case was taken to the Supreme Court, and [don’t rejoice yet]…

The Iranian Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a pastor convicted of apostasy and accused of evangelizing Muslims. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, has been in prison since October 2009, and the appeal of his death sentence was rejected by the Iranian Supreme Court on June 28, 2011. He is to be executed by hanging. If the death sentence is carried out, it will be the first court-ordered execution of a Christian in Iran in 20 years.

“At this time, there is no more action that can be done inside of Iran to overturn this sentence,” a VOM contact said. “It can be carried out at any time. The only options right now are to immediately and swiftly bring international attention to the issue.”

Youcef is imprisoned in Lakan prison, where authorities and members of the “religion of peace” have used various methods, including medication, to convert him back to Islam, according to Present Truth Ministries. After Nadarkhani refused to convert to Islam, his wife was arrested, put on trial without an attorney and sentenced to life in prison. The Nadarkhanis’ children were cared for by a relative while they were both in prison. However with prayer, she was later released after an attorney appealed her sentence.

Pray for Christians living in persecution. Pray for Pastor Youcef and his family too!