Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani is facing a death sentence for apostasy, and has been awaiting a final decision on the verdict for several months. On at least four occasions he has been offered freedom in exchange for renouncing his faith, but has consistently refused to do so.

CSW has also received reports that the long-awaited trial of Farshid Fathi Malayeri, an evangelical church leader who has been held in prison since December 2010, took place on 5 February in a Revolutionary Court based in Evin Prison. The court is expected to deliver its verdict in three months time. Mohabat News reports that the trial had been postponed several times.

The father-of-two was arrested by the authorities on 26 December 2010 during raids which targeted a large number of Christian citizens and house church members, many of whom were later released after exorbitant bail payments.

Farshid Fathi Malayeri was kept in solitary confinement for a large part of his incarceration, and interrogated by agents working for the Ministry of Intelligence about his church activities and contacts abroad. The equivalent of £120,000 was demanded as bail for his release, but when his family eventually managed to raise the money, the authorities refused to release him.

Fathi is now reportedly being held in the general ward of the prison. He is believed to be in good health and his family has been allowed to visit him.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “CSW is deeply concerned at the very real possibility that Pastor Nadarkhani’s death sentence could be carried out at any time, despite the fact that there is no legal basis for this sentence. We urge the international community to press the Iranian government to release Pastor Nadarkhani, Farshid Fathi Malayeri and others who are unjustly imprisoned or facing execution following flawed judicial processes. It is unacceptable that Farshid Fathi Malayeri had to endure over a year of incarceration while awaiting his trial date, including a lengthy time in solitary confinement. CSW also remains deeply concerned at the ongoing harassment and imprisonment of Christians, Baha’is and other minorities, actions which contravene international covenants to which Iran is signatory, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees freedom of religion. We urge the Iranian authorities to follow due process, and ensure respect for the right to freedom of religion.”

The evangelical pastor’s lawyer has learned that the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, has asked the presiding judge over the trial, Ghazi Kashani, to delay the pending judgment and keep him in prison for another year, Present Truth Ministries said in a statement Thursday.

Nadarkhani, a 32-year-old house church leader from the Church of Iran denomination, was convicted of apostasy last year and was sentenced to death by hanging. However, the Supreme Court of Iran asked for the retrial of his case by a lower court in the city of Rasht in northern Gilan Province.

The deliberate delay is meant to let the case “slip away from international attention” even as the authorities continue to “use whatever means necessary to cause him to convert to Islam,” said Jason DeMars, the founder of the ministry that was first to report on the pastor’s arrest two years ago.

It was earlier learnt that the court in Rasht had asked Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, the highest ranking political and religious authority in Shi’a-majority Iran, to rule on whether the pastor should be put to death.

The pastor was arrested in October 2009 from Rasht for allegedly protesting Islamic instruction in schools for his children, Daniel, 9, and Yoel, 7, and after he sought to register his church. Authorities, however, later changed the charges to apostasy. He has been lodged in a prison in Lakan, about seven miles south of Rasht, since then.

The American Center for Law and Justice began the “Tweet for Youcef“ campaign less than two weeks ago and has already garnered a massive following, reaching 160 counties.

According to the ACLJ website, people living in Islamic countries run by Sharia law, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, and Kuwait, are receiving and tweeting information regarding Pastor Nadarkhani.

“Tweet for Youcef” involves a Twitter application that allows the ACLJ to send a daily tweet regarding Nadarkhani’s plight via another user’s account.

The daily tweet includes the number of days Nadarkhani has been imprisoned in Iran, facts about his court case, and a link back to the ACLJ’s Nadarkhani information page.

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in Oct. 2009 and charged with apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims. As of Thursday, Feb. 9, he has spent more than 848 days in prison as he awaits his verdict, which currently sits in the hands of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s spiritual leader and highest authority, for final review.

Although he may face execution unless he recants his Christian faith, Nadarkhani has repeatedly stood strong in his Christian beliefs.

Critics agree that Iran, by prolonging Nadarkhani’s case for multiple years, is attempting to remove his name from the international spotlight. This is why the ACLJ and other organizations, including The Voice of the Martyrs USA, continue to remind the public that Nadarkhani is still imprisoned and Iran is in stark violation of human rights policies.

“[We] are confident from our meeting that Pastor Youcef’s plight will not be forgotten,” Jordan Sekulow, Director of Policy and International Operations of the ACLJ, previously wrote in his blog post regarding his Nov. 2011 meeting with the U.S. State Department.

After the meeting, the U.S. State Department openly called for Nadarkhani’s release. In addition, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Europe Union, 89 members of Congress, France, Great Britain Mexico, and Germany have all publically requested Iran to immediately release Nadarkhani.

Nadarkhani, reportedly in his mid-30s and a married father of two, currently awaits his verdict in an Iranian jail.

The ACLJ organization is sponsoring the “Tweet for Youcef” campaign. The Twitter application would allow the ACLJ to send a daily tweet regarding Youcef Nadarkhani via another user’s account.

The tweet would entail the number of days Nadarkhani has been imprisoned, facts about his court case, and a link back to the ACLJ’s Nadarkhani information page. The tweet would end in “Via OfficialACLJ.”

This is just one way human rights watchdogs are attempting to keep Nadarkhani’s case in the public eye. Other organizations, including The Voice of the Martyrs USA, offers those following Nadarkhani’s case the opportunity to write to him, offering him words of encouragement.

“The good news is that he has really stood firm in his faith, and the other good news is that the world is still paying attention,” Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development at The Voice of the Martyrs, previously told The Christian Post.

Nadarkhani’s case has also received a large amount of international pressure.

The severe persecution faced by Christians, Baha’is, Jews and other religious minorities in Iran was highlighted as a key area of concern by various MPs, within the wider discussion on the extensive and broad-ranging human rights violations committed by the Iranian government.

Stewart Jackson MP drew heavily on Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) research to describe the problems faced by Christians, including the worrying uncertainty surrounding the Nadarkhani case, and the plight of other detainees such as Farshid Fathi and Pastor Benham Irani. “Torture is used to pressure individuals to make confessions and to provide information on others. As I mentioned, exorbitant bail postings secure the release of individuals, along with illegal documents that religious detainees are forced to sign. Such documents demand an end to participation in Christian activities, the renunciation of faith, and compliance with further questioning when summoned. Laptops and mobile phones are often confiscated during raids on private Christian homes and are used to obtain information on the activities and identities of other Christians.”

Louise Ellman MP, who tabled the debate, began the proceedings by raising the plight of the severely-targeted Baha’i religious minority: “The repression takes a number of forms in an ongoing and systematic persecution. It means arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and the denial of access to higher education and areas of employment. The homes and businesses of Baha’is have been subject to arson attacks, cemeteries have been destroyed, and children have been harassed.”

MPs pressed the British Government to make representations to Iran on the issue of the Islamic Penal Bill, which is due to be passed by the Iranian parliament later this year and which may still include a clause stipulating the death penalty for male apostates, despite Iranian claims to the contrary.

Replying to the debate, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt MP said, “We will press at the [UN Human Rights] Council in March, as we do at every Council, for Iran to deal with the record against it that colleagues have spoken about. There is no doubt that the issues raised here will continue to be raised by colleagues, but they may rest assured that their concerns are echoed by the Government. We will continue to stand up for the rights of those who are oppressed in Iran.”

CSW was commended for its work by a number of Parliamentarians, and a reference was made to CSW’s engagement with a debate on human rights in North Korea, which also took place yesterday prior to the Iran debate.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “CSW welcomes the remarks made by Members of Parliament and the response of the government during yesterday’s debate on the human rights situation in Iran, and is encouraged by the robust coverage of the widespread abuses of freedom of religion or belief in that nation. Given the appalling violations that religious minorities face in Iran, it is of utmost importance that the international community both stands and acts in solidarity with them, something that was well articulated in yesterday’s debate. CSW is committed to continuing to raise religious freedom issues in Iran with key policy shapers and decision makers until the human rights situation there is positively and irrevocably changed.”

Pastor Youcef, has once again refused, remaining steadfast in his faith. Remember, Iran previously demanded on at least three separate occasions that Pastor Youcef recant his faith and convert to Islam at his latest trial, to which he replied “I cannot.”

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The Iranian court tasked with making a final determination about Pastor Youcef’s fate has ignored its own promise to make its determination over a month ago. Iran’s move to further delay a determination regarding Pastor Youcef not only violates international law; it violates Iranian law as well.

What is even worse than the delay, is that the Iranian government seems to be continuing to manipulate and coerce Pastor Youcef to convert to Islam.

We first told you several months ago that Iran’s Secret Security had visited Pastor Youcef in prison, without the presence of his Iranian attorney, and ordered him to “read and reflect” on Islamic propaganda. This is a direct and blatant violation of Iran’s own constitution, which provides that the “investigation of individuals’ beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.”

As Tiffany Barrans, International Legal Director for the ACLJ, has stated, “Rather than uphold its legal obligations under the rule of law, which requires it free Pastor Youcef and allow him to peacefully practice Christianity, Iran yet again obliterates any credibility it might have held with the international community.”

Iran’s increased pressure on Pastor Youcef can be directly attributed to increased pressure from the international community. As more and more people around the world have learned about Pastor Youcef’s plight and Iran’s abuses, Iran is feeling the pressure. The Iranian regime is clearly reacting. If it can convince Pastor Youcef to convert to Islam, the story goes away, and its human rights abuses would no longer be in the spotlight.

Now is the time to continue to turn up the heat on Iran. Share Pastor Youcef’s story on Facebook, Twitter, email, and with your church.

Last week we put together a great resource that you can share regarding Pastor Youcef, detailing some of the disturbing facts about his case. We will continue to keep you informed as we work to secure his release.

The 28-year-old received the death penalty for “ cooperating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism,” the verdict said, according to the country’s semi-official Fars news agency.

Ashton also called on Iran to impose an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, saying the country leads the world in the number of executions per inhabitant.

“Thousands of individuals remain at risk of execution, including Ms Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The EU reiterates its call on Iran not to execute them,” Ashton said in a written statement.

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed

The United Nations condemns Iran’s blunt and constant violation of basic human rights of its citizens. “Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis and Kurds and their defenders have all faced rights violations that at times amount to persecution, according to the resolution, with religious minorities such as Christians, Jews, Sufis, Sunni Muslims, Zoroastrians and Bahá’ís.”

Only ongoing international pressure can change the situation and bring about change in Iran’s behavior. Act now and write to your representatives and local officials – it’s not too late to save Pastor Nadarkhani!

[Read More: UN News Centre]

Iran Daily Brief reports: “Iranian security forces attacked a home church in Ahvaz on Friday morning, arresting the priest, Farhad Sabokruh, and his wife as well as the entire congregation of the church. The prisoners were sent on two buses to an unknown location.”

It is important to keep remembering and reminding officials and the world of this blunt violation of human rights by the regime in Iran.

[Read More: Iran Daily Brief]