Nizar Zaka's Lawyer: My Client Will Continue Hunger Strike Until His Release

Nizar Zaka, a 50-year-old Lebanese citizen with permanent residency in the United States, has been imprisoned since September 2015. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $4.2 million for "espionage and collaboration with a hostile government." According to his lawyer, Zaka has been on a hunger strike for about four weeks. In an interview with Radio Farda, Jason Poblete, his lawyer in the U.S., discussed the conditions of this information technology expert in prison. Last week, reports emerged that your client had gone on a hunger strike and was transferred to the hospital. Do you have any new information about him? Nizar is currently very ill. He is not eating and is refusing medical care, including IV fluids. He has become very weak and is not well, but he is committed to continuing his hunger strike. His hunger strike has entered its fourth week, and he has informed us that he will continue this strike until he is released. Do you know if he has been returned to prison after being taken to the hospital, or is he still hospitalized? He was in the hospital for a short time, and it is unclear where he is now. We could not confirm this, and I think he cannot know for sure where he is either. He is very weak and cannot easily communicate with us. He was in the hospital for a short time last week. They asked him to sign documents that were in Persian; documents he cannot read. They had done this before, but he refuses to sign these papers, and honestly, we do not know where he is now. What are these documents? Are they like a confession or something related to his case? He does not know. These documents are in Persian, which is why he insisted that they be in Arabic, English, or French so he can understand what is written in them. His fear is that this might be a forced confession that he does not want to sign. He has told us that he was previously forced to do things in exchange for his freedom, which he did not do. He has repeatedly told them to give him the papers in a language he understands, and then he might sign them. But he will not sign something he cannot read. When Mohammad Javad Zarif was in the U.S. this week, he said his duty as Foreign Minister is to ensure that foreign prisoners in Iran have access to consular and legal services. How has this been for your client? Zarif's statements should be approached with some skepticism. Everything the Iranians have said about this case has been untrue, and I cannot imagine anyone having access to such services, especially since we do not have an embassy. However, regarding Xiao Wang, the U.S. State Department confirmed last week that Swiss officials, who protect U.S. interests, managed to see him four times. This is a bit strange because this has not happened for almost all other prisoners. This is part of the Iranian game, and overall, it is because Nizar has gone on a hunger strike. He has gone through a very difficult time to have access to a lawyer. Zarif should tell his government not to violate international law and to prevent torture and physical pressure and other actions against Nizar Zaka and others. If one person is allowed access to a lawyer, why not another? Because they are playing politics and not behaving civilly and doing things they know they should not do. Mr. Zaka is Lebanese. Have Lebanese officials taken any action in this regard? Multiple governments are involved in this matter. Without going into details of what is happening, I must say that there are several governments trying to help so that Nizar Zaka is released for humanitarian reasons. Mr. Zaka has permanent residency in the U.S. You are in America. Is this country following Mr. Zaka's situation? Because the statements issued by the White House or the State Department rarely mention him. Yes, they have followed up before. Congress will also hold a hearing next week with the presence of Mr. Zaka's family members. My last question is, do you hope that the efforts of these unnamed countries will yield results, or is continuing the hunger strike the only way forward for your client? Mr. Zaka has long been assessed as a political prisoner because he has remained steadfast in his beliefs. He is determined that he is innocent and has not done any of the things the Iranians claim. He says he has a reputation that he is not willing to lose just because someone wants him to confess. He has said either freedom or death, and that is his only option. When someone tells you something so serious and wants to go to the end of the line, especially if you are a lawyer, you must be their voice and hope that this voice is heard. Nizar has no problem with the people of Iran. He has been to Iran five times. He went to do something similar to what he had done in other Middle Eastern and North African countries; to talk about the power of the internet and information. Even since he has been imprisoned, he still talks about these issues. He is with prisoners in Evin and believes that Americans or non-Americans have been unjustly imprisoned there. It does not matter what has happened to him, but he still returns to Iran and does the same work because he believes in the power of the internet and information. He has no problem with the people of Iran, but he has serious issues with those who have imprisoned him, especially with individuals in the Iranian government who have made his situation impossible. He also has a problem with Ms. Mowlavardi, the Vice President, who invited him to Iran and then it was decided that he would be kidnapped and imprisoned. This is not the way civilized countries behave, and I think that is why he is acting this way because he believes that if he does not maintain his dignity and approach, then what has all this trouble been for? We hope he will stop his hunger strike because he has conveyed his message that what is happening to him is not right. At the same time, we support him because he believes he is right, not those who have imprisoned him.