An Iranian-American businessman, Siamak Namazi, who had been temporarily released from prison in Iran after the release of his father, was reincarcerated, we learned from his relatives on Wednesday.
“Earlier this morning, Siamak Namazi was detained by the Revolutionary Guards and reincarcerated in Evin prison
,” according to a statement from his lawyer Jared Genser and his brother Babak Namazi.
“My parents and I are heartbroken and devastated that Siamak's furlough was not extended and he was forced back into prison.
There is absolutely no reason for him to be in jail.
There never was
,” said the brother quoted in the press release.
Siamak, the son, was granted temporary leave on October 1, which was renewed on October 8, after his father, 85-year-old former Unicef official Baquer Namazi, was allowed to leave. leave Iran to go to Abu Dhabi and receive treatment there.
Siamak Namazi was arrested in October 2015 on espionage charges which he continues to deny.
Read alsoIran extends the provisional release of American Siamak Namazi
Asked about it, US State Department spokesman Ned Price spoke of a
“huge setback”
and said the US
was “doing everything it could”
to secure the citizens’ release. Americans detained in Iran and ensure their return
"to their relatives"
.
At least two other American citizens are currently being held in Iran: Emad Sharqi, an investor sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage, and Morad Tahbaz, who also has British nationality, and has been released on bail.