Wife of Anooshe Ashoori, Iranian Engineer Imprisoned in Iran, Calls Espionage Charges Against Him ‘Fabricated’
The wife of Anooshe Ashoori, an Iranian-British engineer imprisoned in Iran, has called the charges against him fabricated and demanded his release.
Sherry (Shahrzad) Izadi Behnam, who has launched an online petition campaign for signatures on a letter requesting her husband’s release, stated in a text written for this occasion that her husband is a 65-year-old civil engineer who went to Iran about two years ago to visit his 86-year-old mother and was detained.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary announced a month ago that Anooshe Ashoori has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of 33,000 euros on charges of espionage for Israel.
This is while Mr. Ashoori’s wife has stated that he was never involved in political activities and his main interest in life was invention and construction of earthquake-resistant houses.
According to her, her husband is a calm, conscientious, and kind man who, instead of being with his family, is spending his life with “fabricated charges” in a grueling and notorious prison.
Ms. Izadi added: “He is a victim of his dual nationality and I believe he is being used as a bargaining chip in negotiations between Iran and Britain.”
She went on to call Mr. Ashoori’s trial a farcical show and said that his request for retrial has also been rejected.
Ms. Izadi called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to release her husband and asked the British authorities to do everything in their power to bring her husband back home.
She has asked everyone to support her efforts to bring her husband back by signing the letter.
In recent years, the security apparatus of the Islamic Republic has repeatedly detained Western citizens and dual nationals on charges of infiltration and espionage, and subjected them to lengthy prison sentences; charges that have mostly been rejected by the families of the detainees.
In recent months, in addition to Anooshe Ashoori, Ares Amiri, a student and former employee of the British Council, who held British residency, has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges.
Other imprisoned Iranian-British dual nationals in Iran are Nazanin Zaghari and Kamil Ahmadi. Two days ago, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of Britain, asked Hassan Rouhani for the release of dual national prisoners during a meeting in New York.
Currently, in addition to the aforementioned dual nationals, several other American and non-American citizens—including Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Michael White, Xiyue Wang, and Kamran Ghaderi—are imprisoned in Iran. There is no information about the fate of Robert Levinson, another American citizen who disappeared in Iran more than twelve years ago.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the arbitrary and unlawful detention of American citizens and those from other countries, including Iranian dual nationals, by the Islamic Republic regime and has demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
Source: Voice of America
