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| Saeed Abedeni & Family |
"...The State Department was AWOL today – absent without leave,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.
“The State Department’s refusal to testify at this critical hearing is offensive to the family of Pastor Saeed – a U.S. citizen held hostage in one of Iran’s most deadly prisons. Instead of appearing before Congress and calling on Iran to release Pastor Saeed, the State Department’s no-show reflects a stunning lack of concern for an American wrongly imprisoned simply because of his Christian faith. Many nations – including the European Union – have highlighted Pastor Saeed’s case and called for his release before the U.N. Our government did not. With an opportunity to condemn Iran and demand his freedom on a global stage, the U.S. government never mentioned him at all – ignored the plight of a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Iran. And, today, at this vital hearing, the State Department was AWOL – they did not show up today. Pastor Saeed and his family deserve more from their government.."
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| Jay Sekulow /ACLJ Chief Counsel |
Congress' Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, stated about today's hearing:
"...Since the beginning of 2012, there has been an increase in the arrest, imprisonment and killing of religious and cultural minorities in Iran – particularly Christians, Baha’is and Sufi Muslims. The State Department has designated Iran as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) every year since 1999 while members of minority communities continue to flee Iran in significant numbers for fear of persecution, unjust detention and even death. According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 'more than 500 Baha’is have been arbitrarily arrested since 2005,' while since June 2010 alone, 'approximately 300 Christians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained.' More recently, Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly promoting Christianity in Iran..."
Representing Pastor Saeed, ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow urged the lawmakers to encourage the White House and the State Department to do more to secure Pastor Saeed’s release:
"...“The fact that the State Department refused to send a representative to this hearing underscores the lack of concern and engagement by the Obama Administration in securing the freedom of a U.S. citizen...Naghmeh [Saeed's wife] came all the way from Idaho to give her testimony here today, but the State Department couldn’t send one person down the street to speak about Pastor Saeed’s case. We believe that there is a great deal more that our White House and State Department can and should do for Pastor Saeed. To date, there has been minimal involvement from the White House press secretary and a State Department spokesperson. Their brief statements have come only as responses to questions asked by reporters. There is no formal written statement from either the White House or the State Department condemning Iran and calling for Pastor Saeed’s release. Our President and Secretary of State should lend their voices personally to the growing chorus calling for Pastor Saeed’s release. The fact is that we are extremely disappointed with the level of engagement by the Obama Administration.”The ACLJ reported Nagmeh was "disappointed with the lack of involvement by the U.S. government."
"...Our kids hold onto the hope of seeing their daddy very soon. The truth is we do not know if we will ever speak to him or see him again. Every day is a death sentence for him. Many mornings they wake up and start running around the house and in the yard. I ask them what they are doing and they say very disappointed ‘it must have been a dream. We saw daddy was home and he was going to twirl us around.’ I hold back my tears as I tell them that it was a dream. I still do not have the heart to tell them that if we don’t do anything, that daddy might never survive the horrific Evin prison. I do not have the heart to tell them of the 8 year sentence. I do hope we can work together to bring Saeed home and I will never have to tell my kids of the dire situation their father is in...I am disappointed that our President and our State Department have not fully engaged this case – disappointed that this great country is not doing more to free my husband, a U.S. citizen. I expect more from our government. We should know that as American citizens, our government will stand up for us. I have been told that I have not requested the assistance of the State Department. That is not the case. I have pleaded many times for their help to free my husband. I continue to ask our government to bring my husband, my children's father, back home..."A Judson Berger article at Fox News today reported that an aide for Congressman Tom Wolfe, who is also working on behalf of the Abedeni family said that:
"...despite repeated attempts they didn’t hear back from the department [State Department] until Thursday, when the department said no one was available..."
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| Victoria Nuland/State Department Spokesperson |
"...Abedini converted from Islam to Christianity in 2000 and became a U.S. citizen in 2010 after he married his American wife. The Iranian government does not recognize his American citizenship, though it had enabled him to travel freely between both countries until this past summer, when he was pulled off a bus and placed under house arrest..."State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, responding to a reporter's question at a Press Briefing said March 7th:
"...we remain concerned about Mr. Abedini. We raise this at regular intervals. We also remain deeply concerned that the Iranians have not yet granted access to him by our Swiss protecting power. We continue to believe he should be released immediately..."
