After Nizar Zaka’s Release, Five Americans Remain Imprisoned or Missing in Iran
Nizar Zaka, a Lebanese citizen with U.S. residency, was released from prison while several American citizens remain imprisoned in Iran.
One of the American prisoners in Iran is Xiyue Wang, a doctoral student of history, who was detained in August 2016 while on a research trip to Tehran, studying his research project on governance and bureaucracy during the Qajar period.
One year after his detention, he was tried on espionage charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Wang’s family, the U.S. government, and Princeton University have rejected the espionage charges against Wang and called for his release.
Siamak Namazi and his father Baquer Namazi, two Iranian-American citizens, have also been imprisoned in Iran for more than three years.
Siamak Namazi, a manager at an oil trading company, was detained in October 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “cooperation with the hostile U.S. government.”
Baquer Namazi was also detained after traveling to Iran a few months after his son’s arrest to follow up on his situation. He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison on similar charges to his son.
Baquer Namazi, who was 80 years old at the time of his arrest, suffers from heart disease. Namazi worked for UNICEF, and the organization has expressed concern about his condition and called for his release.
Michael White, a former U.S. Army soldier, is another American imprisoned in Iran who has been in prison since last summer. He had traveled to Mashhad to visit his girlfriend when, after his arrest, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison for insulting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and 10 years for posting a private photo on Instagram.
This came after White’s family spokesperson said that court proceedings for this American citizen were being held in Persian without an interpreter and without a lawyer. White’s mother said he is a cancer survivor who was undergoing treatment prior to his trip to Iran, and staying in prison would likely expose him to the risk of death.
In addition to these individuals, Robert (Bob) Levinson, a retired employee of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) of the FBI, who traveled to Kish Island more than 12 years ago to investigate cigarette smuggling, also disappeared in Iran.
No information has been received from Levinson in these years except for a few photos and videos taken in an unspecified location showing him severely emaciated. U.S. government officials believe that the Islamic Republic has information about him, but Iran has denied this.
American officials have repeatedly called for the release of American prisoners in Iran, rejecting the charges against them and referring to them as hostages.
In the latest statement on the matter, Sarah Sanders, spokesperson for the White House, expressed satisfaction on Tuesday, June 11, regarding Nizar Zaka’s return to Lebanon and his release, saying that the U.S. government calls for the release of American prisoners in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
