Wrongly imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini was shackled by prison guards at an Iranian hospital and then refused potentially life saving surgery.

The American Center for Law and Justice, who has been trying to obtain Abedini’s release, said that while the pastor was awaiting surgery with an elderly relative, the guards came in and shackled him to the bed.  His relative was then forcibly removed from the room by the Iranian guards.

Abedini has been in need of abdominal surgery because of multiple beatings during his time in Iranian prisons.  The ACLJ says he was sent back to the prison with only some medication to help him with pain.

The ACLJ has noted the questionable timing of Abedini’s hospital transfer and return to prison.  The pastor was taken to the hospital when the High Representative of the European Union arrived in Iran.  The EU has been much more active in raising the issue about Pastor Abedini than the American government.  The moment that Representative Catherine Ashton departed the country, Abedini was seized and returned to the prison.

“This disturbing turn of events reiterates the need to keep pressure on Iran,” the ACLJ said in a statement.