Washington D.C., Oct 13, 2011 / 10:10 am
A Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization has clarified that the life of Iranian Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani remains in the hands of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
“The latest reports indicating that the Supreme Court has called for yet another retrial are misleading,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice on Oct. 12.
Sekulow explained that “the judicial system in Iran operates in a substantially different way than court systems Americans are familiar with.” He made his remarks after news outlets reported Oct. 11 that the case was being sent back to a lower court for re-evaluation.
He explained that the “retrial” being reported is most likely actually the trial that occurred Sept. 25 to 28. That trial took place in response to an order by the Supreme Court in June that required a lower appeals court to determine whether Pastor Nadarkhani was a Muslim at the age of majority, which is 15 years-old in Iran.