Family of Missing American Citizen Seeks Answers in Iran
Ashraf Amin Akbari, a dual American-Canadian citizen of Iranian origin, left his home in Tehran on July 31, 2019, and there has been no information about his whereabouts since. Despite over three years passing and repeated follow-ups by his family, Iranian authorities have claimed to have no information about his status.
According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of human rights activists in Iran, Ashraf Amin Akbari, an Iranian-Canadian-American dual national residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, left his home in Tehran on July 31, 2019, and has not been heard from since.
Despite more than three years having passed and repeated follow-ups by his family, Iranian authorities continue to claim they have no information about his whereabouts and fate. Additionally, the profile of this dual national has been registered as a missing person on the International Police Organization (Interpol) website.
Officer Amin Akbari, the sister of this citizen, in an interview with Hrana while expressing concern about her 63-year-old sister’s condition, stated: “My sister went to Iran for a three-week trip and now it has been three years without any news from her. How is it possible for someone to go missing in a country for this long with no word? I follow up with the Iranian police and intelligence every week and they say they have no information. They ask me if my sister is the only one who has gone missing in Iran? My sister has citizenship of the United States and Canada and was born in Iran, spending most of her life in America, yet no government is helping us find her. Only through extensive follow-up were we able to register her details in Interpol’s Yellow Notice section (missing persons section).”
Given the history of arrests of dual nationals by the Iranian government, Ms. Amin Akbari is also concerned about this and told Hrana: “We have searched all hospitals, morgues, and cemeteries. Although she has no history of civil activism, the only possibility we can think of is that she might be detained in a security detention facility or in prison. My sister is sick and suffers from kidney failure, and she had even left her job due to her illness. She needs her medications and I don’t know wherever she is, whether she has access to her medications or not.”
Ashraf Amin Akbari is 63 years old, a citizen with American and Canadian nationality, and born in Iran.
Source: Hrana
