Mashhad Prosecutor: Verdict Issued for Imprisoned American Michael White

Gholamali Sadeghi, the prosecutor of Mashhad, stated on Tuesday, March 20, that "the verdict for the case of the detained American military citizen has been issued, but I currently have no details about the verdict." Michael White, a 46-year-old American citizen, has been imprisoned in Mashhad since this summer, and reports have emerged regarding his cancer diagnosis. Michael White's mother, in February of this year, called for his release, mentioning that her son's cancer had relapsed. Jonathan Franks, the spokesperson for the White family, also stated about a week ago to Radio Farda that the hearings for this American citizen are being held in Persian without a translator or lawyer. Initially, it was reported that Michael White was a military personnel, but later this was denied, and it was stated that he was previously a member of the U.S. Navy. Gholamali Sadeghi emphasized that "both a private complainant and a public complainant are involved in this case." This judicial official also responded to the question of whether the accused has any security charges, saying: "There are also security charges in this case." Previously, Hossein Panahi Azar, the Deputy for Iranian Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clarified that Michael White is "not a military person" and that security and espionage issues are not raised regarding him. The New York Times also published a report on January 8, citing Michael White's mother, stating that his motivation for traveling to Iran was to meet his girlfriend. The mother of this American citizen imprisoned in Iran emphasized in the same report that she had no information about her son's fate in the first months and that three weeks ago, U.S. State Department officials informed her that he had been imprisoned in Iran. Bahram Qasemi, the former spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, confirmed about a month ago that an American citizen named Michael White was arrested in Iran, stating: "An American citizen named Michael White was arrested in Mashhad some time ago, and this matter was communicated to the U.S. government through the U.S. Interests Section in Tehran in the early days of his arrest, and his government has been informed of this arrest from the very beginning." Michael White is the first American to be detained in Iran during Donald Trump's presidency. Currently, at least three other American citizens are imprisoned in Iran, including Siamak and Mohammad Baqer Namazi, who hold Iranian-American citizenship. Baqer Namazi is currently on medical leave outside of prison and is banned from leaving the country. Xiao Wang, a Chinese-American researcher at Princeton University, has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison and is incarcerated in Iran. Additionally, Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared in the winter of 2006 after traveling to Kish Island, but Iranian officials claim they have no information about his fate. Several Iranian-American citizens imprisoned in Iran were released during a prisoner exchange with a group of Iranian-American prisoners in the U.S. on the day the nuclear agreement was implemented. In this context, Jason Rezaian has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court seeking one billion dollars in damages from Iran. The U.S. State Department has confirmed the imprisonment of another American in Iran. Mike Pompeo stated that the rulers of Iran are among the worst terrorists in the world. An American imprisoned in Iran is being tried "without a translator and lawyer." The U.S. Secretary of State stated that Iran returned Robert Levinson to his family.