Confirmation of the Arrest of an Iranian Citizen Residing in Britain

The Iran Human Rights Campaign confirmed the arrest of Mohammad Reza Hashemi Nabi, an Iranian citizen residing in Britain, at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This news was reported by Ameneh Heydari, Mr. Hashemi Nabi's mother. According to Ms. Heydari, her son, who has been living in Britain for 13 years, was arrested on December 24, 2016, upon entering Iran and is currently held in Ward 2 of Evin Prison, which is under the control of the IRGC. She added that Mohammad Reza Hashemi Nabi has been held in illegal temporary detention, and Judge Abolqasem Salavati has so far opposed his choice of lawyer. Heydari further mentioned that despite the family providing a bail of 200 million tomans, the interrogators did not approve it and prevented his release on bail. Ameneh Heydari stated that her son returned to Iran to visit family, especially his father, who was suffering from cancer, but their meeting was not possible due to the interrogators' refusal to release him, and his father passed away from cancer last Esfand (March) 2022. Ms. Heydari noted that she is 'unaware' of the official charges against her son but added that 'informally we heard that the charge is acting against national security through cooperation with groups or entities abroad.' She rejected this accusation, stating that her son is a veteran of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War and questioned how someone who risks their life for the security of the people could commit an act against their own country's security. In her conversation with the Iran Human Rights Campaign, Ms. Heydari mentioned that for a long time, they did not allow him to get a lawyer. Later, Judge Salavati did not approve the lawyer that her son introduced to defend him, saying that the lawyer must be approved by the judiciary. A new lawyer was later selected, but the new lawyer has also not been able to read the case file so far. After 14 months of her son's imprisonment, she has called for his release or at least for 'a fair and just court with the presence of a lawyer chosen by Mohammad Reza and not imposed by the judge of the case.' On January 31 of this year, Ameneh Heydari also sent a letter to the 90th Article Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesperson of the judiciary, requesting her son's release. This is not the first time that security forces have arrested dual-national Iranian citizens. Currently, besides Mohammad Reza Hashemi Nabi, Nazanin Zaghari and Kamal Foroughi, both of whom hold dual Iranian-British citizenship, are also imprisoned in Iran. Following the recent visit of Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary, to Iran, it was expected that the fate of these two Iranian-British citizens would be clarified, but Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i stated that the judiciary has not yet made a decision regarding the release of Nazanin Zaghari and Kamal Foroughi. According to Mr. Eje'i, the British delegation led by Boris Johnson did not discuss Nazanin Zaghari and Kamal Foroughi with the judiciary, and the judiciary has not made a decision regarding these individuals. Nazanin Zaghari, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, has been accused by the IRGC of collaborating with institutions opposed to the Islamic Republic and participating in 'soft overthrow' activities, and the Revolutionary Court sentenced her to five years in prison. She was arrested by the IRGC on April 3, 2016, while leaving Iran. Boris Johnson, who visited Iran last month, stated that he called for the release of dual-national citizens during his meetings with Islamic Republic officials. Kamal Foroughi, a 77-year-old Iranian-British citizen and civil engineer, has been imprisoned in Iran for seven years on charges of 'espionage.' The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize dual citizenship and considers those entering the country with an Iranian passport as Iranian citizens. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also stated that 'Ms. Zaghari is Iranian and has been convicted according to our judicial system and is serving her sentence.' The Islamic Republic has previously arrested several Iranian-American dual citizens. In January 2016, following the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, four Iranian-American citizens who were imprisoned in Iran were released. Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist in Iran, Amir Hekmati, a former Marine, Saeed Abedini, a Christian convert, and Nasratollah Khosravi Roudsari were the four individuals announced at that time that the U.S. intended to release seven Iranian prisoners in exchange for their freedom. It was later revealed that the U.S. simultaneously provided $400 million in cash to Tehran upon the release of these four prisoners from Iranian prisons, which was part of Iran's confiscated assets related to its military purchases from the U.S. during the Shah's era. Previously, the Telegraph reported that the British government had expressed readiness to repay £400 million (equivalent to $527 million) to Iran for an old debt in exchange for the release of Nazanin Zaghari. However, the Iranian ambassador in London denied any connection between the payment of this debt and the potential release of Ms. Zaghari. The issue of London's debt to Tehran dates back about 40 years when the then Iranian government paid £600 million to Britain for the purchase of 1,750 Chieftain tanks. Britain delivered 185 tanks to Iran by 1979 but refrained from selling arms to Iran after the revolution. In this context, the Wall Street Journal reported on a U.S. proposal to Iran for negotiations regarding prisoners.