An Iranian-American detained in Iran for seven years was released on Wednesday for urgent medical surgery, his lawyer and the UN say
The man, Baquer Namazi, 85, a retired UNICEF staff member, was jailed in 2016 by Iranian authorities during a visit to Iran to watch over his son, Siamak Namazi, who had been arrested there. previous year on a business trip. The Namazis were found guilty of collaborating with a hostile power – the United States – in a secret trial in Iran in October 2016, but the precise nature of the charges has never been clarified.
Video released by Iranian state media on Wednesday appeared to show Baquer Namazi on a tarmac struggling to climb a flight of stairs, accompanied by a man dressed in traditional Omani clothing.
News of his release on Wednesday was confirmed by his lawyer, Jared Genser, who posted a photo of Mr Namazi on a plane before he left for Muscat, Oman. After a brief stopover, Mr Namazi would continue to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates “for urgent medical treatment”, at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Mr Genser said.
Mr Namazi, who had been released from prison but banned from leaving the country, suffered from life-threatening arterial blockages, according to his family, who had been begging Iran for years to let him leave the country for treatment.
Senior Mr Namazi had previously been released from prison for surgery in 2018 to unblock his right carotid artery. In 2020, the Iranian justice informed the father that his sentence had been commuted and returned his bail. But the government refused to renew his Iranian passport, effectively holding him hostage.
Mr Namazi’s health took a turn last month when he was diagnosed with another blocked carotid artery, which put him at high risk of a stroke. This development may have prompted Iranian officials to approve his release.
“Although they wanted to exchange him for something of value, they were beginning to realize that it would be much worse to kill him in Iran than to let him go,” he added. his lawyer, Mr. Genser, said in a telephone interview.
The announcement comes as nationwide protests have engulfed Iran for weeks following the death of a 22-year-old woman in the custody of vice police, who accused her of breaking the law. law of the country imposing the wearing of the headscarf on adult women.
“I am so grateful that after so long, I will soon be able to hug my father again,” Mr Namazi’s other son, Babak, said in a statement provided by Mr Genser, who said Babak was surrendering. to Dubai by car from Abu. Dhabi to greet his father for the first time in over six years. In his 20 years working on political prisoner cases, Genser said he had never known a family with two relatives in prison at the same time. “It costs twice as much,” he said.
Mr Namazi had a brief meeting with Siamak, 51, the longest-held US prisoner in Iran, on Saturday in Tehran after Siamak was granted a week from Iran’s notorious Evin prison so he could see his dad.
“Baquer’s singular goal as a father is to get his son out of jail,” Genser said. “Assuming all goes well with the operation, he will reappear publicly and advocate for Iran and the United States to come together and bring these cases to a final resolution.” Mr Genser said he hoped Siamak’s furlough would be extended and that a deal for his release would also be possible.
Efforts to free father and son have been aided by the UN, Switzerland, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Britain. The Namazis These cases have captured the attention of the international community for years and have remained at the center of unofficial talks between the United States and Iran. But US officials insist the negotiations surrounding the prisoners are not tied to talks to return to a deal to limit Iran’s stalled nuclear capabilities.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement on Saturday that Secretary-General António Guterres was “grateful that, following his appeals to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, our former colleague Baquer Namazi has been authorized to leave Iran for medical treatment”. abroad.”
Guterres and the Omani Foreign Minister thanked Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian by telephone on Wednesday for Namazi’s release, according to Iranian state media.
The US State Department also celebrated the success, but stressed that “our efforts are far from over.”
“We remain committed and determined to secure the freedom of all Americans wrongfully detained in Iran and elsewhere,” State Department spokesman Ned Price wrote in a statement.
At least two US citizens are still being held captive by the Iranian government on charges of espionage and threatening national security. A 66-year-old businessman and environmentalist, Morad Tahbaz, has been detained since 2018. And Emad Sharghi, 56, a businessman, was arrested in January.
On Saturday, Venezuela announced that seven Americans who had been held captive in the country for years were on their way home in exchange for two nephews of Cilia Flores, Venezuela’s first lady, officials said.
The news comes as the United States is still trying to negotiate with Moscow for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, a former Marine, both from prison in Russia.