An Iranian-American previously barred from leaving Iran is now allowed to depart and his imprisoned son was released on a furlough, the United Nations and the men’s lawyer said.
The UN said in a statement on October 1 that following appeals by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Iranian president, Tehran has agreed to allow Baquer Namazi to leave the country for medical treatment and that his son, Siamak Namazi, has been granted a furlough.
Siamak Namazi, a 50-year-old Iranian-American who has been imprisoned for nearly seven years, has been allowed out of Tehran’s Evin prison on a one-week, renewable furlough, lawyer Jared Genser said in a statement.
Baquer Namazi, 85, a former UNICEF official who reportedly suffers from a heart condition, had earlier been released from prison on a medical furlough but was barred from leaving Iran.
“We are delighted to share the news as announced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Baquer Namazi’s travel ban has been lifted and that, for the first time in seven years, Siamak Namazi is at home with his parents in Tehran,” said Genser, who is listed as a pro bono counsel to the two men.
“While these are critical first steps, we will not rest until the Namazis can all return to the United States and their long nightmare has finally come to an end,” he added.
It was not immediately clear if the moves were related to a separate announcement in which Iran’s Nournews said that a regional country had mediated between Iran and the United States for the “simultaneous release of prisoners.”
“In recent weeks, intensive talks, with the mediation of a regional country were held for the release of Iranian and American prisoners,” the semiofficial news agency said.
It also said that “billions of dollars of Iran’s frozen assets because of the U.S. sanctions will be released soon.”
The two Namazi men received 10-year prison sentences in 2015 for “collaborating with the hostile American government” — charges they both denied.
Washington also rejected the allegations and called for their immediate release.
Siamak Namazi was based in Dubai with the Crescent Petroleum Company and was detained while visiting family in Tehran in 2015.
Baquer Namazi was arrested at the Tehran airport. He served two years of his sentence before being placed on a medical furlough but was forced to remain in Iran until the latest announcement.
He suffers from a heart condition and was hospitalized several times while in prison.
