Source: Christianity Today
January 16, 2016
Saeed Abedini has finally been freed.
The Iranian-American pastor from Idaho, held for more than three years, was exchanged as part of a prisoner swap in which Iran released four people and the United States released seven.
Naghmeh Abedini advocates for her husband.
“This has been an answer to prayer,” she said in a press release from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), one of Abedini's leading advocates. “This is a critical time for me and my family. We look forward to Saeed's return and want to thank the millions of people who have stood with us in prayer during this most difficult time.”
Naghmeh Abedini speaks at Boise rally.
Supporters flocked to Naghmeh's Facebook post confirming the good news, which she received after nearly two weeks of Daniel-inspired prayer and fasting for his release.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I felt the Lord saying, ‘Let it go—don’t touch the situation with Saeed, and I will take care of it,’” said Naghmeh in an interview with Morning Star News. “So I let go. I stopped my travels. I stopped speaking. Interestingly enough, it happened when I let it go.”
The exchange happened on the same day that America observes Religious Freedom Day, though the timing was related to ongoing diplomacy surrounding Iran's nuclear program. (The US observed International Religious Freedom Day back in October.)
As CT previously reported, the now 35-year-old Abedini made frequent trips to Iran. A convert from Islam to Christianity, he had been warned by the Muslim nation against his involvement with house churches.
Saeed Abedini
The sentence has resulted in torture and beatings and pressure to recant for Abedini, whose wife and two children live in Boise, Idaho. His release had been requested by Billy Graham, the White House, President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and the United Nations.
Jay Sekulow
The Southern Baptist Convention awarded Abedini the 2014 Richard Land Distinguished Service Award for his "exemplary service and faithfulness to the kingdom of God."
An Abedini family vacation.
CT has reported on Abedini’s sentencing, torture, and pressure to convert back to Islam, along with the best way to help save him. In November, Naghmeh unexpected halted her public advocacy for her husband, citing marital woes and abuse. She later resumed it, stating that she loved Abedini "more than ever."
As "Christians around the world rejoice" at Abedini's release, Middle East Concern (MEC) reported that "Iranian Christians request our continuing prayer, asking that ... other Christians detained in Iranian prisons will be encouraged and released soon."
MEC previously noted how Abedini was only 1 of an estimated 100 Christians in Iran—which contains between 200,000 and 750,000 Christians—currently in prison for their faith. On December 21, Farshid Fathi, one noteworthy believer championed by Elam Ministries and Voice of the Martyrs, was released after 1,821 days in prison. By comparison, Abedini was imprisoned for 1,208 days. Iran's previous highest-profile imprisoned Christian, Yousef Nadarkhani, was imprisoned for 1,062 days.
CT's previous coverage of Iran includes how it is one of the world's hardest places to be a Christian, yet the persecution is backfiring amid excellent evangelists and a record number of baptisms. CT reported on pastor Nadarkhani's imprisonment and release, and talked with Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh after they spent eight months in Iran’s most notorious prison for their faith.
