NEWS ALERT: Tortured Iran Pastor Facing Execution, Christians say

clipped from www.worthynews.com TEHRAN, IRAN (Worthy News)-- The detained Assyrian pastor of an evangelical church in Iran has been tortured and told he may be executed for converting Muslims to Christianity and related charges, his wife and Christians with close knowledge about his situation said. The pastors' wife, Medline Nazanin, said in published remarks seen by Worthy News and its news partner BosNewsLife that that he had "visible marks of torture" when she visited him in prison. Her claims could not immediately be verified, but several rights groups and former Iranian prisoners have complained about abuses in detention centers. Iranian officials are not known to have commented on the case. Nazanin was reportedly told by prison authorities that her husband is accused of "performing baptism" and "converting Muslims to Christianity" and is "awaiting his trial and his death sentence". Under Iran's strict interpretation of Islam, "apostasy" can carry a death penalty and at least a long prison term.

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