Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces execution unless he renounces his faith in Christ, a written verdict from the country's supreme court has confirmed.
Baptist Press reported July 8 that Christians in Iran were challenging news reports that Nadarkhani's death penalty had been annulled. The Christian Solidarity Worldwide human rights organization reported July 14 that the court's written verdict had been released, confirming that Nadarkhani faces execution unless he renounces his faith.
The original verdict on charges of apostasy was based on "fatwas" by Iran's most powerful religious leaders -- Ayatollahs Khomeini, Khamenei and Makarem Shirazi -- meaning the Supreme Court may have been reluctant to overturn the verdict for fear of inviting controversy, CSW advocacy director Andrew Johnston said in a press statement.
Following reports of the verdict, the U.S. State Department issued a statement expressing "dismay" over the situation, according to Fox News. Human rights advocates, however, say apostasy isn't even identified as a crime under Iranian law.
"From a human rights perspective, you can't criminalize someone's choice of religion, much less execute them for that," Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, told Fox News.
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