Youcef Nadarkhani

Yousef Nadarkhani Yousef Nadar - Khani also ( * 1977 in Rasht ) is an Iranian Protestant pastor, who has been convicted in Tehran for " apostasy from the Islamic faith " to death. According to Amnesty International, the Iranian government had a suspension of the death sentence offered if Nadarkhani recant his Christian faith. This Nadarkhani declined from four times.

Nadarkhani has been working as an evangelical pastor since 2001. Iranian authorities accuse him that he had previously converted at age 19 from Islam to evangelical Christianity, which can be punishable by death in Iran. Nadarkhani himself denies the conversion. According to him, he had decided at this age for Christianity, without first belonging to a religion. Those involved with him courts argued against it in accordance with the fitrah, he was the son of Muslim parents whose faith "quasi innate ", so he was a Muslim.

In 2006 he was arrested, but released after two weeks. Since 2009 Nardarkhani was consistently in prison because he protested in addition to a law that children are not Muslims the Koran teaching forces. In September 2010, a Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death, a court of last instance upheld that sentence. According to the International Society for Human Rights, the execution in Rasht Central Prison was prepared. A little hope remained, as the highest spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on theological issues appraisals would still associated with the sentencing.

According to a newspaper statement by Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on 26 February 2012, the German Federal Government Nadarkhanis demanded release, since the alleged conduct did not constitute a crime, but the perception of force in Iran religious freedom.

March 1, 2012 protesting supporters of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR ) with a vigil in front of the Iranian embassy in Berlin against Yousef Nadarkhanis impending execution. Participated also the CDU General Secretary Hermann MP Gröhe ( political godfather in the ISHR Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani for sponsorship program ) and MP Erika Steinbach ( spokeswoman of the CDU / CSU Parliamentary Group for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid ).

On 3 March 2012, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to tell him about the concerns of the Federal Republic of Germany to the lives of Nadarkhani. The Foreign Ministry called it on Iran to comply with the fundamental principles of human rights, including the freedom of religion.

In September 2012, Nadarkhani was released.