Screenshot from Execution order may have been issued for Iranian pastor by the Catholic News Agency
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Youcef Nadarkhani, the Iranian Christian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy, is to be hanged "imminently", an American human rights group is reporting, according to The Catholic Herald.
The American Centre for Law and Justice has been informed by contacts inside the Islamic republic that an execution order has been issued for Mr Nadarkhani, who has refused to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam.
Jordan Sekulow, executive director for the Centre, told American news site msnbc.com yesterday evening that "At this point, we can confirm that he is still alive," but that "We know that the head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, must approve publicly held executions, but only a small percentage of executions are held in public - most executions in Iran are conducted in secret," he said.
"We are calling on the Iranian government to release the pastor immediately."
Mr Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two, was arrested and sentenced to death in Iran's northern city of Rasht in 2009.
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Iranian Christian pastor to be hanged 'immediately' (Catholic Herald)
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Screenshot from Execution order may have been issued for Iranian pastor by the Catholic News Agency