A US pastor who was imprisoned for about four years in Iran returned home on Tuesday to Boise.
Saeed Abedini landed at about 4:40pm on a private plane.
“My first thought was the kids,” Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh, told KBOI-TV. “I woke them up. It was exciting. It was just such an amazing moment of running to them... I just ran and said ‘Daddy’s coming home, he’s free!’ They jumped up. They were jumping, dancing. I wish I could have recorded it, but I didn’t.”
Photo: AFP
Abedini was one of four Americans released in Iran under a negotiated prisoner exchange on Jan. 16. The US agreed to free seven Iranians from US custody in exchange for the release of Abedini and the others.
The 35-year-old Abedini spent the last five days with his parents and sister at a secluded retreat in Asheville, North Carolina. His wife and their children originally planned to meet him at the retreat operated by the Reverend Franklin Graham.
Graham’s spokesman, Mark DeMoss, on Tuesday told the Idaho Statesman that the plans had changed, with Abedini returning to Boise to reunite with his family.
Graham became an advocate for Abedini in 2013 after Abedini’s wife reached out to him, DeMoss said. Graham joined a 2014 prayer vigil outside the White House urging Saeed’s release.
“Franklin has just tried to be a good friend and offer support, draw attention to the case, encourage people to pray for Saeed while he was in prison and praying for his family,” DeMoss said. “He’s offered to stay connected and be helpful in any way that he could. It’s become a good friendship.”
The Boise man was detained in Iran for compromising national security, presumably because of Christian proselytizing. He was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison.
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