Franklin Graham Responds to Saeed Abedini's Charges

Franklin Graham is responding to charges by former prisoner Saeed Abedini that the evangelist did little to help him after his release from an Iranian prison.

CBN News followed the story of the imprisoned pastor. 

According to The Christian Post, Graham's spokesman, Mark DeMoss issued the following statement about the allegations.

"It is unfortunate that Graham's efforts to secure his (Abedini's) release from an Iranian prison and provide transportation of him from Germany to America, his financial assistance to Saeed and Naghmeh... his provision of marital counseling at no cost to them, and various offers of employment for Saeed have now been met with a bitter Facebook post about him and his ministry, Samaritan's Purse," said DeMoss.

Abedini was detained in Iran for sharing his faith in September 2012. He was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison. His family said he was beaten and denied medical treatment while in the Iranian prison.

At time of arrest, he was running an orphanage in Iran which the government knew about.

Graham, CEO of Samaritan's Purse, campaigned for the persecuted pastor's release, making national media appearances along with Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, during his time in prison.

In a recent Facebook post, Abedini claims Graham used him for his own personal gain and demands he repent.

"A week after I got released and Franklin Graham welcomed me home (because of the huge international media attention on me he badly wanted to be involve) he knew I don't have any place to go but he left me alone in Boise until I was forced to call him to ask money to rent a place," Abedini wrote.

DeMoss says Graham did help Abedini and his family.

"While he never raised money from others for Saeed or Nahgmeh, his ministry did provide funds to help Naghmeh travel and raise awareness for her husband's case, and to help her care for her two children and herself while her husband was unable to work and provide for them," DeMoss said.

The statement goes on to say, "When Franklin Graham first learned that American pastor Saeed Abedini had been imprisoned for his Christian faith in Iran in 2012, he did what millions of people around the world did — he began to pray for his release and for his family here in America. He also did whatever he could to draw attention to the plight of this pastor, including speaking personally to President Obama and President Putin about his situation and urging Christians around the world to pray for his release."

Meanwhile, Abedini and his wife are in the process of a divorce. 

DeMoss says Graham is no longer in communication with either Abedini or his wife.