John R. Houk
© May 2, 2015
How does a President go all out to release someone imprisoned by America’s enemies? Hmm … Well President Barack Hussein Obama looks for a military deserter who treasonously collaborated with Taliban Muslim terrorists to attack U.S. military soldiers, then secures the deserter’s release in exchange for five Muslim terrorist war criminals incarcerated at Gitmo. If that wasn’t bad enough, America’s good President announces the imminent trade glorifies Bowe Bergdahl as an American hero with Bowe’s parents in tow.
AND YET when it comes to American citizens imprisoned in Iran for being Christians, President Obama goes for a nuke deal whatever it costs while abandoning American citizens to the Twelver-Muslim haters of Iran: Former Marine Amir Hekmati, journalist Jason Rezaian and Pastor Saeed Abedini. In the case of Hekmati and Rezaian the charges are trumped up because they are American citizens of Iranian origin. In Pastor Abedini’s case his arrest and imprisonment is because of his Christian faith.
The ACLJ has been working Pastor Abedini’s release for the half-decade he’s been incarcerated. Christian American citizens apparently mean nothing to Obama. There is all the appearance from Obama that Israel-hating Iran is going to be allowed to arm with nuke WMD while Iran tortures Americans.
JRH 5/2/15
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Obama Administration Threatens to Veto Measure Requiring Pastor Saeed’s Freedom
By ACLJ Staff
April 30, 2015
The Obama Administration appears to be preparing to leave American Pastor Saeed Abedini and the other U.S. citizens wrongfully imprisoned in Iran on the sidelines of the Iran nuclear negotiations - even promising a veto to congressional legislation if an amendment is added to include the imprisoned Americans..
In a stunning comment, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest told reporters that interjecting the captive Americans into the discussions is unacceptable and that it “certainly would interfere with the ongoing negotiations between the international community and Iran on their nuclear program.”
That is simply unbelievable. Refusing to discuss the Americans being held hostage by Iran at the bargaining table and rejecting any congressional attempt to make any deal with Iran contingent on the release of the Americans is unacceptable. It’s quite frankly appalling.
The disturbing comments came in today’s press briefing when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest declared, “The President would certainly veto any amendment or any bill with an amendment that undermined the unanimous compromise that was reached in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or that interfered with the ongoing negotiations. Certainly a provision, an amendment, that made this nuclear deal contingent on Iran’s release of those three American citizens would fall, I think frankly, into both categories.”
Full transcript of the questions from ABC News’ Jonathan Karl and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest’s answers:
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: The Senate of course is debating the Corker Bill. Corker announces he has a veto proof majority. He doesn't really need it, because you’ve endorsed the compromise bill. But there are a whole series of amendments that are going to be voted on. You know, for instance, there’s an amendment that says before any sanctions are lifted, Iran would have to release those three Americans known to be in Iranian prisons. What is the administration’s view on these amendments? Are you saying it is this deal or no deal? Would we go back to a veto threat situation if, in the specific instance I just mentioned, an amendment passes that says first Iran needs to release those Americans? Would you veto that bill?
JOSH EARNEST: The President would certainly veto any amendment or any bill with an amendment that undermined the unanimous compromise that was reached in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or that interfered with the ongoing negotiations. Certainly a provision, an amendment, that made this nuclear deal contingent on Iran’s release of those three American citizens would fall, I think frankly, into both categories. It would directly undermine the unanimous compromise that was reached in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and it certainly would interfere with the ongoing negotiations between the international community and Iran on their nuclear program.
KARL: So the President would veto that?
EARNEST: So, those kinds of amendments that are added to the bill, that undermine the unanimous compromise or would interfere with the talks would earn a presidential veto. And I think that, given, again, the unanimous vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am confident there would be strong support—or I guess strong opposition—to those kinds of amendments. And that opposition, I would expect it to be bipartisan. But this is a process that will have to play out.
This is despicable. This is outrageous. And it is an insult to the captive Americans and their families.
The President is promising to veto a bill requiring the release of Pastor Saeed and the other Americans imprisoned in Iran.
Time is running out. We must put more pressure on the White House and Congress.
The fact of the matter is simple. There can be no deal unless Pastor Saeed and his fellow American hostages in Iran are free.
The Senate is debating key amendments that prioritize the release of American Pastor Saeed Abedini to reunite him with his family here in the U.S., along with the release of the three other American hostages, Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, and Robert Levinson. We are fighting on Capitol Hill and working directly with members of the U.S. Senate.
Over 185,000 of you have already signed our latest petition to urge the U.S. Senate to do the right thing.
Stand with us as we urge Congress to legally require Pastor Saeed’s freedom before any deal with Iran is finalized.
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Walking a Day Imprisoned with Pastor Saeed
By ACLJ Staff
April 29, 2015
* The following is an expository narrative crafted from the information imprisoned American Pastor Saeed has shared with his family and descriptions publicized from released prisoners of Rajaei Shahr Prison. As Pastor Saeed’s wife Naghmeh says, “This is a day in the life of Saeed as he would tell it.”
8:00 AM I awake after another sleepless night, not knowing what the day will hold. Will another of my fellow inmates be dragged to the gallows today? Will another inmate steal my belongs? Will a guard threaten me to recant my faith and return to Islam? I start to try and prepare my mind for what strength I will need for another day, but my thoughts are interrupted as the guards come to count me. To them I am not a man but just another number. I debate whether to lay my head back down and skip the meager breakfast of bread and cheese, realizing that if I do, I will only have one other meager portion of food to sustain me for the entire day. Reality hits abruptly every morning, awakening me from my dreams of family and freedom. Sleep is incredibly alluring as it is in my sleep that I temporarily escape the reality of prison life. Sleep also helps me pass the time and to avoid tension among other prisoners. There are days where I don’t have the strength to get out of bed, but luckily today is not that day. Today, as I begin my day, I stop and pray to steady my mind and remind myself of the promises of God.
10:00 AM Today I get to take a shower. It sounds like such a simply luxury, but here with limited facilities and severe overcrowding, I count it a blessing despite the filth I stand in to clean myself. You see, there are only 3 showers for the roughly 80 prisoners in my section of the prison. Practically, this means I get to shower roughly once a week. The water is cold, but I am grateful.
11:00 AM After my shower I contemplate whether to return to my little corner in my cell or try to mingle with other prisoners. There are roughly 80 of us in my little room built for 20, but my corner is where I can pray and avoid conflict with other prisoners. For a while I was able to make paper crosses to hang by my bed, a sort of little sanctuary, but the guards have since forbidden such displays. While the day always passes faster when I have fellowship with others, doing so has gotten increasingly more difficult. There are some prisoners here who see my very presence as a threat, for I am not only a convert to Christianity but I am also an American. This tension has only grown as the United States and Iran continue to negotiate. For today, I decide to sit in my little space, alone with my thoughts.
12:00 PM The guards round us up to take us to the courtyard. The courtyard is not much more than an open air concrete cell, but it is my only opportunity to feel the sun on my face. Going outdoors is a luxury offered daily; but over the past year, there were many days when I had to avoid the courtyard. It was in the courtyard that some prisoners associated with Islamic terrorists groups threatened to take my life. The tensions are high with fellow prisoners who oppose my faith and conversion from Islam, but with recent geopolitical events, my U.S. citizenship has also become a source of tension. The internal pull for sunlight entices me, but I know that stepping outside places me at greater risk. So today, I avoid the conflict and decide sunlight is not worth the risk.
2:00 PM As prisoners, we are responsible for maintaining the ward and are each assigned chores and tasks. But even with these tasks the sheer number of us and lack of overall care for the facilities has created inhumane and unsanitary conditions. Our bathroom, which I am tasked with cleaning today, is no more than a hole in the ground. Every attempt to clean the bathroom is futile as the ceiling above leaks feces and urine from the bathroom directly above. As I clean I try to maintain perspective by humming worship songs. In this filth, I am reminded of the depth of my own filth that Jesus took for me by dying on the cross.
5:00 PM My stomach is starting to feel the pains of severe hunger. The meager portion of bread and cheese has not sustained me throughout the day. With these hunger pains I am also desperate for some relief from the pains in my abdomen – injuries I sustained from numerous prison beatings endured over the years. The level of pain has varied in the last two and half years, but today it is strong. Unfortunately, the mild pain killers that curbed the sharpness of my pain have long run out. The prison doctors have told me they will provide no additional medicine for my internal injuries. So today, I go to the one source I know to help my pain – I go to God.
6:00 PM For the second time today I must line up to be counted by the guards.
7:00 PM When a prisoner arrives here, he has only what clothing and little money he had in his pocket when detained. After going through the mandatory quarantine, the prisoner enters the general population and must purchase any necessities from the prison store. We must purchase our own dishes and utensils for eating, our blankets for keeping warm in the cold winter, our undergarments, and our toiletries. So for some prisoners who are estranged from their family they have very little and eat their food from plastic containers cut from used milk jugs and cleaning agents. Today, I feel blessed my family has provided me enough money on my store account to have my own bowl and spoon. For dinner, I am given either a single potato or a bowl of rice with some sauce. Tonight’s dinner is rice with what tastes like soy sauce. Of the two and half years I have been in the prison, the prison has only made available protein, which I had to purchase from the prison store, for 2 months. The last time I ate protein was over 7 months ago. Clean drinking water has also been a scarcity. For months now, I have had to drink water from the tap—water that I must let sit so the sediments can settle before skimming the water from the top. I can tell that the lack of nutritious food has taken a toll on my strength and health.
9:00PM The sun has set and the day is winding down. I return to my cell and try to find something to occupy my mind. The room is extremely crowded and dark. There is a small window near my bed, without glass and steel bars. The broken window was brutal during the winter months, so I am grateful that the weather has warmed. Before settling into bed, I must regularly check the beds as the prison is infested with roaches and mice. A few weeks ago I had reached into my Kleenex box for a tissue only to find that a mouse had made his home inside.
12:30 AM Lights out at 12:30. While I seek sleep, it evades me tonight. Over the past several weeks the number of executions in the prison has greatly increased. I try to close my eyes and avoid the sounds and images of death. I try to coax my mind into recognizing that if I can just stop my thoughts about my reality I can return to my dreams where I can be reunited with my wife and two beautiful children. I try to recount which day of the week it is and cling to the hope that I will get to have a visitation with my Iranian family on Wednesday – it is in these visitations that I get to see pictures of my growing children. It is during these visitations I get the words of encouragement from all of my brothers and sisters in Christ who have committed to praying for my freedom.
The ACLJ continues to work in this country and abroad to secure the freedom of Pastor Saeed – a U.S. citizen – who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than two-and-a-half years because of his Christian faith. The ACLJ represents Pastor Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh, and their two young children who live in Idaho.
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Obama Deserting Pastor Abedini to Iran Prison
John R. Houk
© May 2, 2015
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Obama Administration Threatens to Veto Measure Requiring Pastor Saeed’s Freedom
Walking a Day Imprisoned with Pastor Saeed
American Center for Law and Justice | Washington D.C. | Copyright © 2015, ACLJ
The ACLJ is an organization dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties secured by law.
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