Boise Pastor Saeed Abedini is finally back in Boise.
His wife, Naghmeh, tells us Saeed has seen his children since he landed earlier today but there is also a new development in this story.
According to the Idaho Repository, Naghmeh filed a domestic relations case against Saeed today. The status is listed as pending and the filing doesn’t include Naghmeh’s last name as Abedini but rather Panahi.
“Domestic relations” seemed like a vague term to us so we reached out to former Idaho Attorney General Dave Leroy to get a better understanding of what it may mean.
“We have a process in Idaho where instead of being divorced parties can separate for a period. There can be other collateral issues that are taken up early or late in a domestic relations case but ultimately a domestic relations case between man and wife typically means a divorce,” Leroy said.
We reached out to Naghmeh tonight and she told us she has not filed for a divorce but would not elaborate.
In the months prior to Saeed’s release Naghmeh, while still calling for his freedom, painted a different picture of her husband.
In November we first learned of the allegations she made about Saeed in e-mails. Those e-mails from Naghmeh alleged a long list of abusive behavior by Saeed.
An article published by Christianity Today says Naghmeh sent out two e-mails to supporters claiming Saeed was abusive. The article goes on to say Naghmeh claimed the abuse started early in the marriage and got worse during his imprisonment.
In the article she is quoted, “The abuse is very serious stuff and I cannot live a lie anymore.”
We sat down with Naghmeh the day news broke that Saeed had been released from prison in a deal between the U.S. government and Iran.
These are some of the responses she had when we asked her about those allegations:
"I guess I have learned as a Christian to hate the sin but love the sinner. I've learned to see my husband and our dark issues and our marriage but to not stop fighting for him.”
"The truth is we are both humans and there are very serious issues in our relationship that need to be solved."
“I think our family would need time to heal and reconnect but once that happens I don’t know what’s next. We just have to take it a step at a time."
