Update on Iranian Pastor

ISTANBUL, February 24 (Compass Direct News) – Lawyers for an Iranian pastor awaiting a final decision on his death sentence have not received communication from authorities that their client will be executed, despite reports that his death is imminent. Rumors of an imminent execution for Yousef Nadarkhani were leaked this week after a source close to one of his lawyers contacted international media, informing them that a lower court had signed Nadarkhani’s execution papers and that his death would be carried out soon, sources told Compass. 

“The lawyer is waiting for confirmation, but he understood from a source that the execution was issued,” said Firouz Khandjani, a member of the council of the Church of Iran, Nadarkhani’s denomination. “Now we are trying to understand exactly what is happening.” Nadarkhani’s case had been sent to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for a decision on his death sentence, but legally the lower court still has the authority to issue an execution order, Khandjani said. “We are waiting for a confirmation, but we have to take action, because we know of people who were executed without notification,” he said. 

Some sources told Compass they are skeptical of the credibility of information that Nadarkhani’s lawyers received this week and the certainty with which international press has been reporting his “imminent death.” They say this may be a governmental ploy to gauge international reaction to such a rumor.