More than 150 former UN staff and civil society activists called for the release of Baqer and Siamak Namazi

More than 150 former UN and UNICEF staff, academics, and members of civil society expressed renewed concern on Tuesday, October 12, about the situation of Baqer and Siamak Namazi in Iran and called for their immediate release.

The activists' letter of request was published on the fifth anniversary of Siamak Namazi's imprisonment.

Siamak Namazi, a 49-year-old Iranian-American businessman, was arrested and imprisoned on October 12, 2016, on charges of “collaborating with the US government,” and his 84-year-old father, Baqer Namazi, who had gone to Iran to help secure his release, was also arrested a year later.

Baqer Namazi was the governor of Khuzestan before the Bahman Revolution of 1979 and is a retired senior member of UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund).

The Revolutionary Court sentenced each of these two people to 10 years in prison.

Baqer Namazi has been on sick leave since last year due to his deteriorating physical condition, but he is prohibited from leaving.

Source: Radio Farda