Iran says detained US resident to be released to Lebanon
- by Jerome Frank
- in World News
- — Jun 12, 2019
A Lebanese businessman detained in Iran since 2015 for alleged anti-state activity left the country on Tuesday, a Lebanese official said, after Beirut secured his release.
The DC attorney for Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national who has permanent residency in the U.S., says he's now out of prison after four years, reports the Washington Post.
On Tuesday morning, an Iranian judiciary official confirmed for the first time that Mr Zakka would be allowed to return to his country.
The information technology expert was arrested while visiting Iran in 2015.
Zakka was arrested in 2015 and convicted of spying for the USA government - charges he denies.
Over the past four years, Zakka's family members have repeatedly called on the Lebanese government to negotiate for his release.
He also denied information disseminated by semi-official Fars News Agency, which reported that Zakka would be transferred to Hezbollah. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other rights groups have reported allegations of torture and ill-treatment there, including solitary confinement and denial of access to medical care. The development comes at a time of increased tension between the United States and Tehran, though NBC News notes that it's unclear whether this might lead to the release of Americans and other foreigners held by Iran.
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Ibrahim told Reuters news agency the release was not based on a wider prisoner swap.
After a short meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Mr Zakka told the state-run National News Agency that there were no grounds to Iranian accusations of his being a USA spy.
Esmaili stressed Zakka's release was within "the frame of the law".
"Nizar Zakka, like many other dual or foreign nationals held in Iran, is a political pawn", Ms Dagres said. "Also, the Lebanese Hezbollah group considered the approval of his freedom as prudent".
Zakka, who lives in Washington and holds resident status in the US, leads the Arab ICT Organization, or IJMA3, an industry consortium from 13 countries that advocates for information technology in the region. Zakka's family has characterized the charges against him as without merit.
Zakka's IJMA3 organization had received at least $730,000 in contracts and grants since 2009 from both the State Department and USAID, the lead American government agency fighting poverty and promoting democracy across the world.
Shahindokht Molaverdi, an adviser to President Hassan Rouhani who as a vice president invited Zakka to Iran, told the AP in September that Iran's government had "failed" to help Zakka.
"Suddenly, news emerges that he's being released to Lebanese government officials", Ms Dagres said.
