A woman whose husband has been imprisoned for nearly 800 days in Iran will receive a visit from President Obama, the White House confirmed Wednesday.
During his tour of the Gem State Wednesday, Obama will meet privately with Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband, Saeed Abedini, has been imprisoned by the Shiite theocracy since 2012.
“Mr. Abedini has been held unjustly in Iran for a number of years now,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One. “His wife lives in Boise and so it’s an appropriate occasion for the president to visit with her.”
While on a post-State of the Union swing through Boise, Obama plans to sit down with Abedini and assure her that the U.S. is concerned about the “unjust detention” of several Americans in Iran, including her husband. Pool reports noted that protestors along the president’s motorcade at Boise State University held an assortment of “#freesaeed” and “Bring Home Saeed” signs, in addition to signs criticizing Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.
Obama is visiting Abedini even as negotiations continue between the two countries to try to halt the development of Tehran’s nuclear program.
Earnest said U.S, and Iranian officials occasionally speak about these prisoner cases on the sidelines of talks about Iran’s nuclear program, and Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with his Iranian counterpart about these prisoners in the last 10 days during a meeting in Europe.
“This continues to be a priority for the administration. The president will discuss that with Mr. Abedini’s wife,” Earnest said.
Saeed Abedini is an American pastor of Iranian descent who has been imprisoned in Iran since September 2012. He was detained by Iranian authorities and was accused of posing a threat to Iran’s national security because he was meeting with Christians in the country and setting up underground churches in houses to expose the Iranian people to the Christian religion.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative Christian law firm affiliated with Regent University law school, led a campaign to urge Obama to visit Abedini’s wife. The petition garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
