U.S. State Dept. Blasted Over Pastor Saeed Abedini For 'Cowardly Silence'

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) blasted the U.S. State Department for its lack of action in helping the case of American pastor Saeed Abedini, in particular for failing to appear at a congressional hearing on Friday.

The law group, who is representing Abedini's wife and two children back in the U.S., called out the State Department for an email it sent claiming, "We believe we are doing everything we can publicly and privately," when the department didn't even send a single person to the hearing on Friday.

Furthermore, Congressman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said that the State Department should be "utterly ashamed" of its "deafening and almost cowardly silence" over the pastor's case.

Abedini is currently serving an 8-year sentence in Tehran, Iran, after being convicted earlier this year of "endangering national security." ACLJ has actively campaigned on his behalf, arguing that the real reason behind his imprisonment was his work helping underground Christian churches in Iran, where Muslims are the majority, and for building an orphanage for children.

Although the State Department and Secretary of State John Kerry had previously said that Pastor Abedini should be released by Iranian authorities, they failed to attend the congressional hearing on Friday, where the ACLJ brought up the pastor's case as well as the persecution many Christians in Muslim-dominated countries face.

"Saeed is a husband and amazing father," Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, told the U.S. Congress on Friday in an emotional speech. "The kids and I miss him terribly. Our kids hold onto the hope of seeing their daddy very soon."

Source: Christianpost