Pastor Saeed Abedini, had been Taken to Hospital, Suddenly Shackled and Forced to Return to Prison
Jordan Sekulow : Mar 12, 2014
ACLJ.org
They are refusing to provide him with anything more than mere pain medication. They have denied him surgery–the only treatment that will help. They have even denied him test results.
(Iran)—American Pastor Saeed Abedini’s case has taken a turn for the worse. He has been shackled and refused medical treatment at a hospital, as Iranian guards forcibly ban visitors.
A little over a week ago, Pastor Saeed–a U.S. citizen–was moved from Rajai Shahr Prison to a private hospital in Iran. He was told he would receive further tests on his deteriorating medical condition and undergo surgery to address chronic pain in his stomach area–the result of numerous prison beatings.
For the past week and a half, he has undergone various tests and received much needed nourishment. This had been a very positive development and much needed reprieve for Pastor Saeed.
Today, that all changed. This morning Iranian guards lashed out violently against Pastor Saeed and an elderly relative who had been able to visit him in the hospital. Pastor Saeed was pinned down and shackled. His elderly relative was roughly handled and expelled from the hospital.
The guards stated that they had a court order banning visitors and instructing that he be shacked at all times. Hospital doctors also told Pastor Saeed that he must leave the hospital and return to prison. They are refusing to provide him with anything more than mere pain medication. They have denied him surgery–the only treatment that will help. They have even denied him test results.
The timing of both of these moves is very suspect. In what appears to be a move to put Iran in a favorable light, Pastor Saeed was moved to the hospital, something his Iranian family has been actively seeking for months, coinciding with the arrival of the High Representative of the European Union, Catherine Ashton in Iran. However, as soon as she departed Iran, Pastor Saeed was informed that he would be moved back to prison without receiving any real treatment.