The U.S. Calls for the Immediate Release of Its Imprisoned Citizens in Iran

The United States on Sunday, shortly after the remarks of the Iranian judiciary spokesperson regarding the sentencing of another American citizen to 10 years in prison, called for the immediate release of its citizens and other foreign nationals imprisoned in Iran. AFP reported on Sunday, citing a U.S. State Department official, that "we urge Iran to free all American citizens who are unjustly imprisoned so they can return to their families." This official also protested Iran's continued actions of imprisoning American citizens and other foreign nationals on "fabricated charges" of actions against national security. The AFP report quoted this unnamed State Department official as saying that "the safety and security of American citizens is a top priority." He also urged all American citizens, especially dual nationals determined to travel to Iran, to carefully consider the latest travel warnings issued by the U.S. State Department. Although this official's statements did not specifically mention the names of any American citizens imprisoned in Iran, they were made after Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for Iran's judiciary, announced the 10-year prison sentence for an American citizen "accused of espionage." He claimed that this American citizen, who also holds citizenship of a European country, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence after entering Iran with "special influence." There were no further details provided in Mr. Ejei's statements, and it was only claimed that this individual was "directly" supported by the U.S. Shortly after these remarks, the judiciary-affiliated news agency Mizan reported that the arrested individual is named Zhi Yu Wang, who was born in China. According to this report, he was arrested on August 9, 2016, while attempting to leave Iran. The report accused this American citizen of having "paid several thousand dollars" to "register a digital archive of 4,500 pages of documents from the country." The report did not mention whether these "documents" were classified or ordinary, nor did it explain why collecting them was a crime. However, an examination of the content of this report reveals that the "documents" in question pertain to libraries in Iran, which are not considered classified. The Iranian judiciary news agency stated that this 37-year-old American citizen is a history student at Princeton University and is fluent in Persian, adding that he was associated with the "Shirmin and Bijan Moosar Rahmani Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies." This center, located at Princeton University, states on its website that it supports teaching and research in all areas of studies about Iran and the Persian Gulf. Security institutions of the Islamic Republic and principlist media often label many research projects about Iran as commissioned by U.S. security agencies. The arrest and sentencing of this American citizen come at a time when several Iranian-American citizens and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen residing in the U.S., are imprisoned in Iran. Some of these prisoners, including Nizar Zakka and Siamak and Baqer Namazi, have received 10-year sentences. On May 6 of this year, several members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged the Trump administration to take specific actions for the "unconditional release" of Iranian-American prisoners in Iran. The members of the House noted in this resolution that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has "taken hostage" Siamak Namazi, Baqer Namazi, Karan Vafadari, and a fourth citizen whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, as well as Afrin Niyazari and Nizar Zakka, who have permanent residency in the U.S. They also pointed out the imprisonment of citizens from Britain, France, Germany, Canada, and other countries in Iran, calling on these countries to join in a united front to work together for the release of their citizens. Recently, Nikki Haley, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, described the detention of political prisoners during a meeting with Babak Namazi as "one of the worst human rights violations" and called on Iran to release Siamak and Baqer Namazi, "two American citizens" imprisoned in Iran. In this context, Iran has sentenced another American to "10 years in prison on charges of espionage." The "increase" in the U.S. government's efforts to free dual nationals in Iran has been noted, with the U.S. representative to the UN calling for the release of Siamak and Baqer Namazi. Iran confirmed the issue of Iranian-American prisoners in the recent JCPOA negotiations. The families of Baqer and Siamak Namazi have requested assistance from Donald Trump.