Religion

Pence Speaks Out In Defense Of Christian Woman Punished In Iran For Converting From Islam

Vice President Micheal Pence poses for his official portrait at The White House, in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, October 24, 2017. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen)

Vice President Mike Pence spoke out Friday in defense of a Christian woman punished for her religious beliefs in Iran.

Pence tweeted about the plight of 65-year-old Mahrokh Kanbari, a woman who was sentenced to one year in prison for “acting against national security” and engaging in “propaganda against the system,” according to the Christian Post. Kanbari previously had converted from Islam to Christianity.

The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Karaj sentenced Kanbari on Monday after Iranian intelligence officials arrested her and confiscated religious materials in her home on Christmas Eve.

Kanbari was released after paying about $2,500 in bail, charged with acting against national security in January and instructed to go to a religious leader to help her return to Islam, according to the Christian Post.

“I am appalled to hear reports that Iran’s despotic rulers have punished yet another Christian woman for exercising her freedom to worship,” the vice president tweeted.

Iran must free Mahrokh Kanbari today. Whether Sunni, Sufi, Baha’i, Jewish or Christian, America will stand up for people of faith in Iran like Marokh and Pastor Bet Tamraz whose persecutions are an affront to religious freedom.

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) August 2, 2019

“Iran must free Mahrokh Kanbari today,” Pence added. “Whether Sunni, Sufi, Baha’i, Jewish or Christian, America will stand up for people of faith in Iran like Marokh and Pastor Bet Tamraz whose persecutions are an affront to religious freedom.”

The White House did not yet respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.