Exclusive interview with the wife of prisoner Shahab Dalili: Security agents told him to fast and keep quiet

Shahab Dalili, an Iranian citizen with permanent residency in the United States, has been imprisoned in Iran for about six years. He traveled to Iran in 2016 to attend his father’s funeral, but was arrested while leaving the country and later sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of “collaborating with a hostile government.”

Shahab Dalili's family had remained silent until now due to threats and promises they received from Iranian security officials, hoping that this cooperation might lead to his release. However, after six long years of false hopes and various threats, Dalili's family finally decided to make the matter of his arrest and imprisonment public.

In her first media interview, Mr. Dalili's wife explained her husband's situation and case in an exclusive interview with the Persian service of Voice of America.

"We had been in the United States for a year, and this was the first time he had returned to Iran," Shahab Dalili's wife, Nahid, told VOA. "He had only been there for a week, and he was arrested on his way back to the airport, and we haven't seen him in six years."

Shahab Dalili was arrested in April 2016 after traveling to Iran to attend his father's funeral. Shahab's mother died the previous year, but despite being in Iran, Mr. Dalili was unable to attend his mother's funeral because he was not given leave.

Nahid Dalili says: "The accusations they made against him were that he had ties to a hostile country, the United States. The status of the trial and the verdict were not clear for two years. People who introduced themselves as agents of the Ministry of Intelligence called me and told me to keep quiet. The word they used was a fast of silence. They told me that you must fast of silence. They also asked me for money to help him. Of course, I was sure that Shahab was innocent and that when the trial was held, he would be acquitted. But I think these calls were a scam because when Shahab's verdict was issued and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of having ties to a hostile country, the United States, these calls were cut off."

Ms. Dalili said about what made her break her silence: "It was very difficult for me to make a decision on this matter, and I thought that if I made the wrong decision and Shahab's case got worse, I would be responsible. After two and a half years, Shahab could have been released on bail for four days. And for a prisoner, these four days are a blessing because he could see his family and his mother because she was alive. Unfortunately, last year, when Shahab was still in prison, his mother died, and even though Shahab was in Iran, he was unable to attend his mother's funeral."

Shahab's wife, Dalili, explains her silence over the past six years: "We thought that because we listened to their fast of silence and acted on it, they would be given leave and that maybe by speaking out, I would create problems in the case. I always hoped that maybe justice would be served and maybe Shahab's sentence would be changed or maybe he would receive a pardon or conditional release."

Nahid Dalili, referring to the existence of negotiations for the release of American prisoners held in Iranian prisons, called on the US government to follow up on her husband's case in its negotiations with Iranian authorities. She said: "I have heard that the US is currently negotiating for the release of hostages held in Iran, and names are being mentioned, but Shahab's name is not among them. That is why I decided to make the issue public and convey my message to President Biden and others who care about human freedom, that Shahab has been in prison for six years, and to ask them not to forget Shahab in these negotiations that are taking place."

Nahid Dalili said about her husband's work and background: "In Iran, Shahab was a captain of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Company and served in shipping for 30 years. During this time, he had a brilliant record and received commendations. He had no connection with any hostile country and only did the work assigned to him. He traveled to different countries and was always trusted."

Referring to the reason for their immigration to America through family connections, Nahid Dalili added: "I'm telling you right now that I can never believe that what they attributed to Shahab is true. But in court, the judge said that any contact, even talking to an American, even about the weather in Iran, is considered a crime."

Referring to her husband's poor conditions in prison, Nahid says: "Shahab never complains about the conditions there so that we don't get upset, but in the middle of his conversation I realized that they have bedbugs there and that they, along with the other prisoners, use insecticides and other things to get rid of them, and they have to constantly disinfect the place where they sleep. He told me about the cockroaches, he told me about the sewage there. None of this was direct, but when we talk to each other, he likes to know what we do during the day and be aware of our lives, and he also tells us stories. It is during his conversations that I realize that the conditions are not good, but he doesn't complain so that we get upset."

Currently, other foreign citizens or dual-national Iranians imprisoned in Iran include Siamak and Baqer Namazi and Emad Sharghi, Iranian-American citizens, Mehrdad Raouf, Iranian-British citizen, Ahmadreza Jalali, Iranian-Swedish researcher, Masoud Mosaheb and Kamran Ghaderi, Iranian-Austrian citizens, Fariba Adelkhah, Iranian-French citizen, Nahid Taghavi, German citizen of Iranian descent, and also Benjamin Brier, French tourist.