Officials with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) say the U.N. Human Rights Council is taking a hard look at the case of Pastor Saeed Abedini and his wrongful imprisonment in Iran.

“The Human Rights Council Working Group looked at the facts, they looked at the evidence and they came to the independent conclusion, as we have, that his detention is arbitrary, that it is in violation of international law and that he should be freed,” Associate Counsel Matthew Clark said to One News Now.

“So the U.N. is taking steps to put out there exactly what is happening and what action needs to be taken by the Iranian government to free him.”

The move by the U.N. is seen as significant to put pressure on Iran in the wake of Abedini’s home country doing nothing to help obtain his release from an Iran prison.

“It’s been nearly two and a half years now since Jacob’s dad, Saeed Abedini, has been imprisoned in Iran because of his Christian faith,” Jay Sekulow of the ACLJ wrote in an article for Fox News.

“And, on this day, the day Jacob turns 7, his dad is still languishing in prison — separated from his son, his daughter and his wife — still in need of medical care, still facing an uncertain fate.”