Family of missing American citizen in Iran seeks answers

Ashraf Amin Akbari, a dual-citizen American-Canadian citizen born in Iran, left his home in Tehran in August 2018 and has not been heard from since. Despite more than three years and repeated follow-ups by his family, Iranian authorities have so far denied any knowledge of his condition.

According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Ashraf Amin Akbari, an Iranian-Canadian-American citizen with multiple nationalities living in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, left his home in Tehran on August 3, 2018, and there has been no news of his condition since then.

Despite the passage of more than 3 years and repeated follow-ups by this citizen's family, Iranian authorities continue to claim ignorance of his status and fate. In addition, the details of this dual citizen have been registered as a missing person on the website of the International Police (Interpol).

Officer Amin Akbari, the citizen's sister, expressed concern about the condition of her 63-year-old and sick sister in an interview with HRANA, adding: "My sister had gone to Iran for a 3-week trip and now there has been no news of her for three years. Is it possible for someone to go missing in a country for this long and not be heard from? Every week I follow up with the Iranian police and the Shapur police department, and they say they have no information. They tell me that your sister is the only one missing in Iran?! My sister has American and Canadian citizenship and was born in Iran and spent most of her life in the United States. However, no government is helping us find her. Only by following up a lot were we able to register her details in the Interpol Yellow Notice section (missing persons section)."

Ms. Amin Akbari is also concerned about this issue, given the Iranian government's history of arresting dual citizens. She told HRANA: "We have searched all the hospitals, morgues, and cemeteries. Although she has no history of civic activism, the only way we think she is left is maybe in a security detention center or in prison. My sister is sick and suffers from kidney failure and had even quit her job due to illness. She needs her own medicine, and I don't know if she has access to it wherever she is."

Ashraf Amin Akbari, 63, is a citizen with American and Canadian citizenship and was born in Iran.

Source: HRANA