Iranian officials are using increased coercion and manipulation against a Christian pastor who has been sentenced to death for apostasy, says a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization.

Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, said that Iranian Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani is still alive only "because Iran got caught this time."

Sekulow told EWTN News on Jan. 31 that although international attention is still preventing the pastor's execution, the Iranian government appears to be increasing pressure against him.

He said that Nadarkhani was recently presented with an "alternative offer" to renouncing his Christian faith. Iranian officials said that could instead simply acknowledge Muhammad as a prophet. He refused.

Nadarkhani, a 32-year-old pastor, has been in jail since 2009, when he was arrested after complaining to local authorities about his son being required to read the Koran at school.

Despite threats of execution, he has refused to recant his Christian beliefs and argues that he was never a Muslim during his adult life.

An appeals court agreed that Nadarkhani had never been a Muslim during adulthood. However, it also determined that because he had abandoned the faith of his ancestors, he must recant or die.

Under increasing pressure from the international community, Iranian officials then asked for an "opinion" on the case from the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

The court publicly promised to issue a decision by mid-December if the supreme leader did not respond. However this promise has been ignored as the ruling continues to be delayed.

In December, Sekulow explained that Iranian authorities were also ignoring the violation of a law that requires a trial judge to "issue a decision within a week of completion of trial."

He said that the Iranian government is trying to avoid creating a precedent in this case that it may be obligated to follow in future religious freedom cases.

At the same time, he explained, the government is well aware of the international pressure to respect Nadarkhani's human rights.

"There is nothing more Iran would like to see than this potential international embarrassment forgotten by the international media," he said.

Sekulow expects to continue seeing "different kinds of offers" placed before Nadarkhani in the coming weeks.

He called for renewed attention on the pastor's plight in the media, as well as continued international pressure.

The American Center for Law and Justice has started a Twitter initiative for Nadarkhani, in which individuals can sign up to automatically donate one tweet from their account per day.

The tweets will continue to call attention to Nadarkhani's plight, highlighting the length of time he has spent in jail and reminding people to pray for him.

Sekulow said that nearly 1,000 people have signed up in less than one week.

It is "a simple way" to help, he explained, because it does not require people to spend money or take up much time.