Good news for a change! Hamid Pourmand could have been sentenced to death, but international attention once again embarrasses Muslims into mitigating Sharia law, as it did in the infamous Amina Lawal stoning case in Nigeria. From AsiaNews, with thanks to Sparta:
Teheran (AsiaNews/Mec) – Christians in Iran have learned that Hamid Pourmand, a lay leader in a church and a convert from Islam, have been acquitted of charges of apostasy and proselytising. If found guilty he would have faced the death penalty. He remains imprisoned for allegedly deceiving the Iranian army about his being a Christian.
On Saturday 28th May an Islamic judge in Bandar-I Bushehr, on Iran’s Gulf coast, acquitted pastor Pourmand of charges of apostasy and proselytising Muslims. Christians news agency Compass Direct has been told that the judge reportedly stated “I don’t know who you are, but the rest-of-the-world does”, a clear reference to the international attention that this case has attracted.
Pastor Pourmand was formally charged with apostasy from Islam and proselytising Muslims in early April. Starting on 13th April he appeared before an Islamic court in Tehran every two or three days. He was repeatedly pressed to return to Islam. These hearings stopped after two weeks. He was transferred to his home town of Bandar-i Bushehr on the 16th May.