Siamak Namazi ( fa, سیامک نمازی; born September 14 or October 14, 1971) is an

Iranian-American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...

businessman. He had been detained in Evin Prison 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 October 13, 2015, until his release. On February 22, 2016, Iranian authorities arrested Baquer Namazi, the father of Siamak, when he arrived in the country to visit his son. On October 18, 2016, Baquer and Siamak Namazi were sentenced to 10 years in prison for collaborating with a foreign government. ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

'' reported that according to his legal team, he was the "longest-held Iranian-American imprisoned in Iran." He was released on a brief furlough on October 1, 2022. 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.) Georgetown is a historic neighborhood, and commercial and entertainment district located in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establish ...

along with other Americans wrongfully detained abroad. In mid September 2023,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

reported that the United States agreed to allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to receive $6 billion of Iranian oil revenue frozen in South Korea since 2018 in exchange for the release of Namazi and 4 others. The money will go from South Korea to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and ultimately to Iranian government accounts. The United States will retain oversight over the funds and will only allow them to be spent for humanitarian purposes. Namazi was ultimately freed from imprisonment in Iran on September 18, 2023, as part of an Iran–United States prisoner release mediated by

References

1971 births Living people American people of Iranian descent American people imprisoned in Iran Iranian prisoners and detainees Inmates of Evin Prison Prisoner exchanges {{US-bio-stub

See also

References