Cassidy Calls For Saeed Abedini To Be Freed

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), along with 41 of his House colleagues, introduced a bipartisan House resolution demanding the release of Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini from an Iranian prison.  The Congressman released the following statement:

“The United States has a moral obligation to stand for religious freedom at home and abroad.  The arrest of Saeed Abedini demands our attention.  The U.S. House of Representatives should pass this resolution and the Obama Administration must aggressively work for this pastor’s release.”

“Leaving Mr. Abedini captive in an Iranian prison is wrong.  Advocates for Pastor Abedini say that he has suffered ‘multiple beatings’ in the prison and his health ‘continues to deteriorate.’  His arrest and subsequent treatment violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations, of which Iran is a member.”

Last July Pastor Abedini returned to Iran to serve the Iranian people through continuing work on an orphanage he started. He was placed under house arrest and later transferred to prison for the “crime” of establishing churches in Iran 13 years ago.  He is currently in the Evin Prison, which is reportedly “one of the most brutal” in Iran. 

A copy of the resolution is here and the list of original cosponsors is available here.