An Iranian-American named Siamak Namazi has been returned to jail after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declined to extend his temporary release.
Siamak Namazi was told yesterday by members of the IRGC that his furlough would not be extended any further, without being provided with a reason,” said a statement issued by the Namazi family’s lawyer, Jared Genser.
Of the four Iranian-Americans being held in Tehran, Mr. Namazi is the longest-serving.
In October 2015, he was arrested with his father Baquer Namazi, a former Unicef official, on charges of espionage. They both deny the charges.
An Iranian-American businessman has been detained in Iran for almost seven years was recently released from prison after his father, who was serving his sentence under house arrest, was allowed to travel to Abu Dhabi for medical treatment.
Talks between Iran and the United States over how to revitalize the 2015 nuclear agreement have stalled, and Tehran’s leadership is facing mounting domestic pressure as well as brutal crackdown by police as nationwide protests continue.
The news that Siamak Namazi had been returned to Evin prison came as a shock to his family. After years of hoping, they finally felt progress in a difficult case that the US State Department has been unable to resolve.
In light of Siamak Namazi’s father’s release from prison, Babak Namazi expressed hope for a less painful chapter in reuniting their family.
However, Siamak’s presence in Evin has destroyed that hope.
The Namazi family’s ordeal with the Iranian justice system began in 2015, when Mr Namazi, a businessman, was arrested during a trip. His father was then arrested when he attempted to visit his son in prison in 2016.
The US State Department described the charges against the two as ‘baseless.’
The family had some hope that Mr. Namazi’s furlough would be extended once again.
Image Credit; Reuters
