People Weekly Reports on Condition of Emad Sharqi’s Family, Iranian-American Citizen Imprisoned in Iran
People Weekly has published an article on the condition of the family of Emad Sharqi, an Iranian-American citizen detained in Iran, noting that his wife has spent the past three years constantly wondering about her husband’s condition while under detention in Iran.
At the beginning of the article published on Wednesday, June 3, Bahare Sharqi’s watch has been set to Iranian time for three years as she constantly wonders how her 56-year-old husband is doing.
Emad Sharqi, director of Sarawa Company, was first arrested in Iran in April 2018 and was released on bail after some time, but was later summoned to Revolutionary Court, tried on espionage charges, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
During this period, Bahare and Emad have spoken sporadically; the last time they were able to talk by phone was May 23 of this year, and the time before that was April 28, about a month earlier.
Bahare told a People reporter: “An innocent man has been detained without any valid reason for the entire past three years, unable to hold his family in his arms and be here with us; accepting this situation is really difficult.”
According to her, after his arrest, Emad was taken to Evin Prison again, and it took ten days before Iranian Islamic Republic officials admitted he was in prison, and it took much longer before he was able to visit his wife.
After his release on bail and summons to court and the issuance of a 10-year prison sentence in absentia, Emad Sharqi decided to flee Iran without informing his lawyer and family, but was arrested at the Iraq-Kurdistan border.
Bahare Omidi or Sharqi initially thought it was better to remain silent and not worsen her husband’s situation, but ultimately broke her silence in late February 2021 and spoke for the first time with the New York Times.
She had stated in part of her conversation with the New York Times that Iranian security officials had repeatedly threatened her, saying she would face “punishment” if she provided information about her husband’s arrest to American officials or the media.
The Sharqi family’s lawyer believes Emad has become a victim of the Islamic Republic’s political games and that Tehran wants to use him, like other foreign or dual-national prisoners, as leverage in its international negotiations.
Source: Voice of America
