| Filed on Page 2: WoT Background, because this is not a considered sentence for a committed crime, but merely the inevitable next step in a dreary dance. |
An Iranian-American businessman and his father have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran, a state-run judicial news agency reported Tuesday, the latest dual nationals imprisoned since the nuclear deal.
The announcement by the Mizan news agency came a day after it released footage of businessman Siamak Namazi, a sign of the power still wielded by hard-liners in the Islamic Theocratic
Republic.
The Mizan report said Namazi and his father Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF representative who once served as governor of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province under the US-backed shah, were convicted of "cooperating with the hostile American government." It did not elaborate.
Supporters of the Nazamis could not be immediately reached for comment. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report also said Nizar Zakka, a US permanent resident from Leb, also received a 10-year prison sentence. His supporters had earlier told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named about the sentence, though the Mizan report was the first official Iranian report of it.
The report also said two others had been convicted as well, without naming them or identifying their nationalities.
Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance. In most cases, dual nationals have faced secret charges in closed-door hearings in Iran’s Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.
The Namazis were not released as part of a January deal that freed detained Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans in exchange for pardons or charges being dropped against seven Iranians.
That deal also saw the US make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran.
Analysts and family members of those detained in Iran have suggested Iran wants to negotiate another deal with the West to free those held. In September, Iran freed a retired Canadian-Iranian university professor amid negotiations to reopen embassies in the two nations.
US demands Tehran free jailed Iranian-American and father
[IsraelTimes] The United States is demanding the release of an Iranian-American businessman and his 80-year-old father who were handed tough sentences in Tehran on espionage charges.
“We are deeply concerned about reports that US citizens Siamak Namazi and Baquer Namazi have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner says in a statement. “We join recent calls by international organizations and UN human rights experts for the immediate release of all US citizens unjustly detained in Iran, including Siamak and Baquer Namazi, so that they can return to their families.”
Siamak Namazi, a well-connected business consultant who has supported reformist politicians in Iran, was arrested as he arrived in Tehran a year ago. His father, Baquer, was detained in February when he came to Iran to seek his son’s release.
The US also expressed concerns about reporters of the “declining health” of the elder Namazi.