When Saeed Abedini returned to the United States after 3 1/2 years of torture in Iran, news of his wife’s filing for legal separation greeted him.
That was last month. The pastor, who has been accused of several forms of spousal abuse, finally chose to weigh in on the public speculation of their marital woes.
Naghmeh Abedini told Facebook fans she filed the domestic relations case to ensure her children would stay in the state of Idaho.
“Of course, I had no intention of taking our children away from our home or our state,” Saeed wrote to the Idaho Statesman.
As for the abuse allegations, the Statesman also reports Saeed was arrested for domestic abuse in 2007. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which was suspended, and placed on probation for a year, according to the article.
Saeed told the Statesman that much of what Naghmeh posted online and the subsequent media reports were untrue, but he is seeking “God’s will” for his marriage.
“I have chosen not to respond in the two weeks I have been back in America because I believe personal issues are best dealt with personally,” Saeed wrote. “I am a sinner, saved only by the wonderful grace of God. While I am far from perfect — as a man or as a husband, I am seeking every day to submit to God as He molds me into what He wants me to be.”
Naghmeh posted on Facebook that she is also committed to restoring their marriage.
“I love my husband, but as some might understand, there are times when love must stop enabling something that has become a growing cancer. We cannot go on the way it has been. I hope and pray our marriage can be healed. I believe in a God who freed Saeed from the worst prisons can hear our plea and bring spiritual freedom,” Naghmeh wrote.
