The Brutal Thing This Christian Pastor Witnessed Inside of an Iranian Prison That Has Left Him 'Shaken

The brutal beating and execution of six of his fellow prisoners has left Pastor Saeed Abedini — a 34-year-old American citizen who has been detained in Iran for more than two years — "quite shaken," according to a report released by the American Center for Law and Justice.

On the same day that some of Abedini's family members recently visited him at Iran's Rajai Shahr Prison, six of his fellow inmates were beaten and hanged, leaving him increasingly fearful, as his eight-year prison sentence forges on.

"Saeed was quite shaken as he had to witness six fellow prisoners being beaten and taken to be executed that day," his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, said in a statement issued through the American Center for Law and Justice. "It was a hard and dark day having witnessed that and seeing life being taken."

She said that the prison visit was extremely difficult for the families of those executed, noting that they were "crying and wailing."

Naghmeh and Saeed Abedini (ACLJ)

Naghmeh Abedini, who has vocally urged the Obama administration to take action to secure her husband's release, asked for continued prayer and strength for Saeed, as he continues to languish in Iran's horrific prison system.

"Please pray that this will be the year that Saeed is released," she said.

Following a meeting with President Barack Obama along with her children, Rebecca, 8, and Jacob, 6, at Boise State University in January, Abedini told TheBlaze that she was left both hopeful and encouraged, feeling as though her family’s plight was made more real and tangible in the eyes of the president and his administration.

“I feel like there was a heart connection. As much as I needed to see him to make it more personal, I think it had the effect where he saw us and we weren’t just a news story,” she said. “We are a family torn apart. I could see compassion in his eyes.”

Obama told Abedini during the closed-door, 10-minute meeting that securing her husband’s release is “a top priority” and that he will do everything possible to bring Saeed home.

Since that meeting, Abedini and the American Center for Law and Justice have met with David Sapertsein, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, to express their concerns and urge the administration to continue pushing for her husband's release.

This is hardly the first hardship Saeed Abedini has faced in prison, as he has reportedly been injured due to intense beatings and has fallen prey to threats from Islamic State militants.

Saeed Abedini was first arrested in 2012 on charges stemming from meetings he had with other Christians inside private homes — an act that is not illegal in Iran. As the DeMoss group noted, he was later "convicted of undermining the national security of Iran for working with Christian house churches between 2000-2005."

Read more about his story here.