DUBAI: Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who has been imprisoned in Iran for nearly seven years, has been allowed out of Tehran’s Evin prison on a one-week, renewable furlough, his lawyer Jared Genser told Reuters on Saturday.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement that Siamak’s father, Baquer Namazi, is being allowed to leave Iran for medical treatment.
Baquer Namazi was convicted in Iran of “collaboration with a hostile government” in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Iranian authorities released him on medical grounds in 2018 and closed his case in 2020, commuting his sentence to time served but effectively barring him from leaving the country.
His son, Siamak, was convicted of the same charge and has been held in Evin prison since 2015. The US government has described the charges against both as baseless.
It was unclear if Siamak’s furlough might be a step toward his full release, nor whether it signals the possible furlough or release of other US citizens detained in Iran.
“I am thrilled for the Namazi family that for the first time in seven years Siamak Namazi is sleeping at home with his family,” Genser, who represents the family, told Reuters, saying Siamak was staying with his parents at their Tehran apartment.
“This is a critical first step but of course we will not rest until the entire family is able to return to the United States and their long nightmare is finally over,” Genser added.
US citizen allowed to leave Iranian prison for a week -lawyer
https://arab.news/pmvmg
US citizen allowed to leave Iranian prison for a week -lawyer
- UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Baquer Namazi is being allowed to leave Iran for medical treatment
- It was unclear if Siamak's furlough might be a step toward his full release
Trump: ‘Iran will be hit very hard!’
- US president says Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East’ in his social media post
DORAL, Florida: US President Donald Trump has warned in a social media post that more Iran officials will be targets in war, saying: ‘Today Iran will be hit very hard!’
“Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack,” Trump also said.
The US leader in his post threatened to expand strikes to include new targets.
“Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
Trump also said that Iran is no longer the “Bully of the Middle East” in his post.
President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier apologized for Iran’s attacks on regional countries, insisting that Tehran would halt them and suggesting they were caused by miscommunication in the ranks.
Pezeshkian said its temporary leadership council had approved the suspension of attacks against neighboring countries unless an attack on Iran came from those countries.
