Well-known Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was temporarily released from Evin prison in Tehran on 13 April for a period of five days.
The reason for the short furlough is not known but is not thought to be connected to Easter. The decision to grant the temporary release contrasts with previous decisions by Iranian prison authorities to deny parole to eligible Christian prisoners. Youcef, whose 45th birthday was on 11 April (two days before he was allowed leave prison), is reported to be at home with his family – wife Tina and two sons, Daniel (20) and Joel (17).
Youcef’s current state of health is not known. Back in February, it was reported that he was one of four Christian prisoners in Evin prison to have fallen ill following a suspected Covid-19 outbreak in their ward. The Christians were not tested but all experienced symptoms. No Covid safety measures such as quarantining or testing are being observed in the prison, though the majority of prisoners have been vaccinated.
Background
Youcef Nadarkhani is the leader of the non-Trintarian Church of Iran house church network in the northern city of Rasht, capital of Gilan province. Three members of the church were recently given five-year prison sentences.
Youcef was born into a Muslim family but became a Christian at the age of nineteen. He later spent three years in Rasht’s Lakan prison under sentence of death for apostasy, a case that gained international attention, and was acquitted in 2012.
In July 2018, Youcef began serving a ten-year sentence in Evin prison for “acting against national security” including “propagating house churches” and “promoting Zionist Christianity”. Following a retrial in May 2020, Youcef’s sentence was reduced to six years in prison.
(Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
Read Youcef’s Prisoner Profile