Mohammad Baquer Namazi ( fa, محمدباقر نمازی; born 3 December 1936) is an Iranian-American former civil servant who served as Governor of

Khuzestan Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

under Shah

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

. He was imprisoned in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

from 2016 until 2022. On October 13, 2015, Iran's

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

arrested his son,

Siamak Namazi Siamak Namazi ( fa, سیامک نمازی; born September 14 or October 14, 1971) is an Iranian-American businessman. He had been detained in Evin Prison in Iran from October 13, 2015, until his release. On February 22, 2016, Iranian authorities ...

, while he was in the country on business. The Revolutionary Guards subsequently arrested Baquer as well on February 22, 2016, when he flew into the country to visit his imprisoned son. On October 17, 2016, Iranian authorities sentenced Baquer and Siamak to ten years in prison for "collusion with an enemy state," in reference to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Namazi was released on October 1, 2022 during the

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the government of Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini ( fa, مهسا امینی) began on 16 September 2022 and are ongoing as of December 2022. Amini had been arrested by the Guida ...

. Their release was purportedly in exchange for the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian assets, however the United States refuted any connection between releasing the hostages and the frozen assets. Namazi's family is a part of the

Bring Our Families Home Bring Our Families Home (BOFH) is a campaign by family members of American hostages and wrongfully held detainees advocating for their immediate release. The James Foley Legacy Foundation estimates that there are approximately sixty Americans who ...

campaign which advocates to bring home wrongful detainees and hostages. Namazi's image is featured in a 15-foot mural in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) along with other Americans wrongfully detained abroad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namazi, Baquer 1936 births Living people American people imprisoned in Iran Iranian prisoners and detainees Iranian civil servants Iranian emigrants to the United States People with acquired American citizenship American people convicted of spying for the United States by the Islamic Republic of Iran

See also

References