Supreme court dismisses reports on Nadarkhani's case

Head of the Iranian Supreme Court Ayatollah Mohseni Garakani dismissed recent reports by the western media outlets on the case of Yousef Nadarkhani, and said his dossier has not been sent to the Supreme Court yet."His death sentence has not been approved yet," Garakani told FNA, rejecting the western media ballyhoo about Nadarkhani.Some western media alleged that the Supreme Court has upheld Nadarkhani's death sentence verdict initially issued by his first court. Nadarkhani, 32, was arrested on accusations of rape, corruption and security-related crimes, including extortion, in October 2009. He was given a death penalty after being convicted in a Gilan court last November. He further appealed his conviction to the Iranian Supreme Court, and his appeal trial began last Sunday in Gilan province. Nadarkhani's death sentence was sent to the Supreme Court in 2010, and it was overruled after a year. Sources had also told FNA last Friday that "the Supreme Court has referred the case to a second court to be verified again, but it has not received the result of this verification yet". After his arrest in 2009, the western media launched an intense propaganda campaign and introduced Nadarkhani as a Christian convert and a pastor who runs a network of church houses, alleging that he had been arrested and would be punished for apostasy and recanting his Islamic faith. Iranian officials were quick to strongly dismiss such claims, saying that Nadarkhani is standing trial for rape and extortion, and not for apostasy and refusing to renounce his religion, as the western news media have claimed. "This individual has committed crimes, but his crime is not, as some claim, recanting Islam or converting others to Christianity," Deputy Governor-General of Gilan province for Political and Security Affairs Gholam-Ali Rezvani, told FNA. Rezvani blasted the western media for twisting the real story, and underlined that Nadarkhani had committed several violent crimes, including repeated rape and extortion. He is guilty of security-related crimes," said the deputy governor-general of Gilan, where Nadarkhani's case is being reheard. "The issue of crime and of capital punishment of this individual is not related to his faith or religion as in our system, no one can be executed for changing his/her religion," he added. "Islam is a religion of argument, logic and rationality and has dialogue with other religions as it has a message, and this is the very same message of God's verses that acts as our soft power and challenges the world oppressors and those who trample upon the nations' rights," Rezvani stated. "…this Islamic state has nothing to do with those who have embraced other religions…," he reiterated, and added, "But he (Nadarkhani) is a Zionist, a traitor and had committed security crimes." Despite the western media's propaganda campaign which have all introduced Nadarkhani as a pastor who runs a network of church houses, the official said he has opened a "corruption house". A corruption house means a place where illegal and unethical activities are done, like an opium house or a prostitution house. Yet, the deputy governor-general further stated that Nadarkhani's execution is neither imminent nor final. Also, in his several interviews with the foreign media last Thursday, Nadarkhani's attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah confirmed Rezvani's rejection of the western media propaganda which claimed Iran is killing Nadarkhani for choosing Christianity as his new religion. Dadkhah told the Associated Press that neither the Iranian law nor clerics have ever stipulated the death penalty as punishment for converting from Islam to Christianity. Nadarkhani, now 32, converted from Islam to Christianity at the age of 19, but he was arrested in October 2009, suggesting that he has not been arrested for changing his religion, otherwise he should have been arrested 13 years ago.