 | |
| Islamic court acquits Iranian Christian Under international spotlight, officials tell judge to cancel case
An Iranian Christian lay pastor already sentenced by a military court for converting to Christianity while an officer, has been acquitted of separate charges brought by a sharia, or Islamic law court. Under international scrutiny, an Islamic law court in Iran acquitted a Christian pastor of apostasy and proselytizing charges related to his conversion from Islam. Hamid Pourmand, 47, already is serving a military court's three-year sentence linked to his conversion 25 years ago while an officer. At a hearing Saturday, the judge in the sharia court in his hometown Bandar-i Bushehr reportedly told Pourmand his case had become widely known, reported Compass Direct, a news service that monitors persecution of Christians. "I don't know who you are, but apparently the rest of the world does," the judge said. "You must be an important person, because many people from the government have called me, saying to cancel your case." Instead of dropping the charges, Compass Direct reported, the judge declared he was acquitting Pourmand because he had "done nothing wrong" according to Islamic law. Judges in the sharia court had accused Pourmand of being part of "an underground church for many years, a church through which many people have betrayed Islam and joined Christianity." Pourmand was transfered from Tehran's Evin Prison earlier this month where he was serving his three-year sentence for not reporting his 1980 conversion from Islam to Christianity. The court found him guilty Feb. 16. The Islamic Republic of Iran's law forbids non-Muslims from serving as a military officer. As a result of the sentence, Pourmand was thrown out of the army, lost his salary and pension, and his family lost their home. During the military-court trial, Pourmand's attorney produced several documents showing military superiors had acknowledged years ago that his client was a Christian. He even had been excused by his commander from observing the Muslim month of fasting, an exemption granted only to non-Muslims. The court ruled, however, Pourmand was guilty of giving false testimony and producing falsified documents. Pourmand was arrested in September during a raid of a meeting of an Assembly of God church in which he serves as pastor. The European Union formally complained to Iranian authorities about Pourmand's treatment, calling his arrest and trial a "violation of religious freedom." |
