Laleh Saati is in grave danger. Shi’ite Islam, like Sunni Islam, prescribes the death penalty for apostasy:

Shaykh al-Kulayni narrates a sahíh (correct) hadith from `Ammãr as-Sãbãti who said: I heard (Imam) Abu `Abdullãh (as-Sãdiq) (a.s.) saying, “A Muslim from among the Muslims who renounces Islam and rejects the prophethood of Muhammad and considers him untrue, then verily his blood is lawful (mubãh) for anyone who hears that from him, his wife is to be separated from him the day he became murtad [apostate], his wealth will be divided among his heirs, and his wife will observe the `idda of a widow (i.e., four months). The Imam is obliged to kill him, and not ask him to seek forgiveness.” (Furu al-Kãfi, vol. 7, p. 257)

The Islamic Republic of Iran might not carry out this sentence in the absence of the Imam, but they’re not likely to be lenient and kind to Laleh Saati, either.

“Christian convert denied parole after ‘refusing forced confession,’” Article 18, September 27, 2024:

A Christian convert serving a two-year sentence in Evin Prison on charges related to her Christian activities has been denied parole because she refused to record a forced confession and public disavowal of reports about her case, according to Persian-language news site Human Rights in Iran.

Laleh Saati, who is a former asylum-seeker, is eligible for parole, having served one-third of her sentence, which also includes a two-year travel ban following her release.

According to the report, Laleh has also been refused the opportunity to be released with an electronic tag – all at the insistence of officers of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS).

Laleh has been detained since her arrest in February, and was initially held in Ward 209 of the prison, which is under the jurisdiction of the MOIS.

During her interrogations there, photographs and videos of her Christian activities and baptism in Malaysia, where she had claimed asylum, were brought before her as evidence of her “crime”.

When she was sentenced a month later, the Tehran Revolutionary Court judge reportedly asked her why she had risked returning to Iran from Malaysia “given that you have done such things [Christian activities] outside of Iran”.

Laleh has reportedly struggled with her mental health as a result of the stress of her imprisonment, and both she and her elderly mother have been threatened with new court proceedings against them as a result of the publicity her case has received….

Article posted with permission from Robert Spencer