NIAC Calls for Release of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani

Washington, DC – NIAC issued the following statement regarding

Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani:

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) calls for the
immediate release of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani. The charges of apostasy against
Nadarkahni and the death sentence he faces represent a further erosion of human
rights and rule of law in Iran, specifically the protection of religious
minorities and religious liberty.  Apostasy is not a crime in the Iranian penal
code and the charges contradict the rights afforded to religious minorities even
under the Iranian constitution.

NIAC reiterates its call for the Iranian government to
release all prisoners of conscience held in Iran and to enforce the human
rights and religious protects afforded under Iran’s own laws and international
treaty obligations.