Iranian Christian to be executed for being a 'Zionist'

The international community was furious when it learned that Iran was going to execute a young man for converting to Christianity and wanting to start a church. So Iran on Sunday altered the charges and said it is instead going to execute Youcef Nadarkhani because, among other things, he loves Israel.

Nadarkhani was arrested and convicted in 2010. Legal documents obtained by CNN accused Nadarkhani of "turning his back on Islam, the greatest religion..."

In Iran, the punishment for apostacy is death.

But with pressure mounting for Iran to cease its brutal repression of religious freedom, Gholomali Rezvani, the deputy governor of Nadarkhani's home province, announced that the charges had been changed.

'His crime is not, as some claim, converting others to Christianity. He is guilty of security-related crimes,' Rezvani told the Fars news agency.

And what kind of security-related crimes had Nadarkhani committed? He 'is a Zionist,' declared Rezvani. And just in case, Nadarkhani also had charges of rape and extortion tacked on to his rap sheet. Both CNN and Fox News later pointed out that the original 2010 court ruling did not contain one mention of rape or extortion.

Israel Today

Hamas Hangs Two Arabs for ‘Collaborating’ with Israel

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu reports that Hamas has hung two Gaza Arabs for allegedly collaborating with Israel. Such executions are legal under Palestinian Authority law.

The Hamas Interior Ministry announced the executions after appeals were rejected for convictions handed down in 2004. Human rights activists have not commented on the executions.

Earlier this year, a Hamas firing squad executed one man convicted for helping Israel, and three others are on death row.

The IDF routinely relies on collaborators for information on the location of terrorists, smuggling tunnels and weapon storerooms.

The Palestinian Authority law allows a death sentence for the offenses of collaborating with Israel, murder and drug trafficking, but execution orders must be signed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whom the de facto Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh does not recognize.

Abbas also has previously approved executions, mainly for the crime of selling property to Jews, an offense punishable by death from the time of the Jordanian occupation of most of Judea and Samaria.