Iranian ambassador in Warsaw summoned over condemned priest

Islamic (sharia) law stipulates that a Muslim who converts to another faith is liable to face the death penalty.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry has its expressed “concern” over the Iranian government’s failure to unhold “fundamental human rights”.

Yusef Naderkhani, now 33, initially converted to Christianity in 1997. He was arrested in 2009, while acting as pastor at a church in the city of Rasht, northern Iran.

He was initially sentenced in 2010, and now the supreme court has upheld the sentence.

The court specified that it would show mercy id Father Naderkhani recanted his Christian faith, but the defendant was unforthcoming.

Iran's ambassador in Warsaw has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry by Undersecretary of State, Jerzy Pomianowski.

As the Foreign Ministry noted in a statement, Pomianowski feels “great concern” about what is “another example of Iranian courts failure to uphold fundamental rights, including civil and political liberties, which authorities in Teheran are obliged to comply with under international agreements.”

On behalf of Poland, Pomianowski is appealing to Iran “to respect fundamental human rights.”

According to the pastor's lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, himself a noted human rights advocate, no one has been executed for apostasy – abandoning one's original faith – for some twenty years.

The lawyer has appealed against the Supreme Court's ruling, and a final verdict is due to be announced over the coming days. (nh/pg)


Source: MSZ, IAR, Radio Free Europe