Siamak Namazi
Siamak Namazi (Persian: سیامک نمازی; born September 14 or October 14, 1971[1]) is an Iranian-American businessman. He had been detained in Evin Prison in Iran from October 13, 2015, until his release.
On February 22, 2016, Iranian authorities arrested Baquer Namazi, the father of Siamak, when he arrived in the country to visit his son.[2] On October 18, 2016, Baquer and Siamak Namazi were sentenced to 10 years in prison for collaborating with a foreign government.[3][4] CNN reported that according to his legal team, he was the "longest-held Iranian-American imprisoned in Iran."[5] He was released on a brief furlough on October 1, 2022.[6]
Namazi's family is a part of the Bring Our Families Home campaign which advocates to bring home wrongful detainees and hostages. Namazi's image is featured in a 15-foot mural in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) along with other Americans wrongfully detained abroad.[7]
In mid September 2023, Reuters reported that the United States agreed to allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to receive $6 billion of Iranian oil revenue frozen in South Korea [8] since 2018 in exchange for the release of Namazi and 4 others. The money will go from South Korea to Qatar and ultimately to Iranian government accounts. The United States will retain oversight over the funds and will only allow them to be spent for humanitarian purposes.[9]
Namazi was ultimately freed from imprisonment in Iran on September 18, 2023, as part of
See also
References
- ^ "Petition to the United Nations" (PDF). Perseus Strategies. 25 April 2017.
- ^ "UN Urged to Take Immediate Action on Namazis". IranWire. 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Dual Nationals and Foreigners Held in Iran". U.S. Institute of Peace. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Who Are the Dual and Foreign Nationals Imprisoned in Iran?". Center for Human Rights in Iran. 7 October 2019.
- ^ "American man held in Iran marks 2,000 days in detention". CNN. April 3, 2021.
- ^ "At Least 92 Killed In Iran Crackdown On Anti-Hijab Protesters: NGO". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ Turner, Tasha (2022-07-22). "Ottumwa native creates art to bring awareness to American hostages, detainees". KTVO. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
- ^ "US moves ahead with Iran prisoner swap and release of $6bn of frozen oil revenues".
- ^ Mohammed, Arshad; Pamuk, Humeyra; Pamuk, Humeyra (2023-09-12). "Five US citizens detained in Iran are 'in full health,' says Raisi". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
- ^ "'The nightmare is over': Americans freed by Iran in prisoner swap". BBC. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
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