Maryland Court Orders Transfer of Iranian-American Citizen to Prison

A district judge in Maryland issued a ruling on August 17 to revoke the bail and order the detention and transfer of Behrouz Mokhtari, an Iranian-American citizen, to prison. Mokhtari, a 72-year-old man, was sentenced on July 25 to 41 months in federal prison and three years of "supervised release" after being convicted of conspiring to "violate sanctions against the Islamic Republic." He was granted bail secured by property worth $1.8 million, allowing him until September 11 or earlier to report for his sentence. According to the judge's ruling, he was to be placed under 24-hour electronic monitoring at home, "except for necessary medical emergencies, meetings with a lawyer, court appearances, or other activities approved by the court." He was also prohibited from obtaining any passports or travel documents. However, the Maryland court decided to revoke his bail and order his transfer to prison ahead of the scheduled date due to violations of this ruling. The judge explained that federal agents from the FBI found documents related to his application for an Iranian passport dated August 8 during a search of Mokhtari's residence and vehicle, and he admitted to applying for it. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that 72-year-old Behrouz Mokhtari confessed to trading illegal shipments of petrochemical products from the Islamic Republic through his main company in Panama. Michael Lipin, a reporter for Voice of America, contributed to this report.