As Iranian Americans we express our outrage and concern over the continued detention of business executive and humanitarian Siamak Namazi by security authorities in Iran. October 13th, 2020, marks the 5th year of Siamak’s unjust imprisonment. Like so many others in Iran, Siamak has been robbed of the best years of his life after an unjust and unfair legal process that saw him convicted on baseless charges.
Siamak’s case has been marked by senseless cruelties against him and his family. His father, former UN official Baquer Namazi, was also arrested after being lured back to Iran on the basis of seeing his son. The elder Namazi is 84-years-old, suffers from serious illnesses, and was hospitalized multiple times while in detention. While he is allowed out of Evin prison, he is not allowed to leave the country to get the medical attention he needs.
The tragic reality is that Siamak’s experience is similar to numerous other dual Iranian nationals who sought the betterment of their country of heritage only to be arbitrarily arrested and convicted. Siamak advocated for the removal of obstacles to bringing medicine and medical equipment to those in need in Iran. The Iranian government’s continued practice of arbitrarily detaining people like Siamak is a grave concern for dual Iranian nationals in the U.S. and elsewhere.
NIAC calls upon Iranian authorities to end the continued suffering of a father, son and entire family and to allow Siamak and Baquer Namazi to leave Iran and be with their loved ones. We further call on Iran’s government to release all foreign and dual nationals wrongfully convicted and all prisoners unconscionably held for their political beliefs.
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