First Interview With Saeed Abedini: Freed Pastor Prayed Without Ceasing in Prison

Julie Brown Patton : Jan 26, 2016
The Gospel Herald

"The best thing I could do over there was pray." -Pastor Saeed Abedini

(Asheville, NC)—Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American who converted to Christianity and was just freed from Iranian imprisonment after years of captivity there under accusations that his faith undermined the Iran government, granted his first and only interview to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News Monday. (Screengrab via Fox News/Gospel Herald)

She went to North Carolina to interview him, where he is resting at the Billy Graham Training Center.

He said one of his most distinct memories was when he was put in front of an Iranian judge, who asked him if he knew why he was there. "I said, ya, it was because of my Christian faith." The judge told Abedini he was there because he wanted to "use Christianity to remove government." In reality, Abedini had gone to Iran to start a secular, government-operated orphanage.

Abedini said the most difficult part of being in jail was finding how to pass the countless hours.

"When they sent me to the other solitary, which Amir Hekmati, the Marine, was over there," Abedini said. "They bound my eyes, they took me to his room, and up in there, I think, for almost 60 days with Amir."

"First, when I removed my eye band, and I saw Amir, I got very heart-broken to see what they did to our Marine," Abedini said, explaining that Hekmati had black eyes, and he was...

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