UN says two Iranian-Americans unjustly held in Iran part of a pattern

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two Iranian-Americans serving 10-year prison sentences on spying charges in Iran should be immediately freed and paid restitution, a United Nations panel said on Monday, calling their “arbitrary” detention part of an “emerging pattern” by Tehran of targeting dual nationals.

The decision by a group of U.N. experts on the case of Siamak and Baquer Namazi comes as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends the world body’s annual meeting in New York.

It puts new pressure on the moderate cleric’s government to confront hard-liners within Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and judiciary, which repeatedly has arrested and prosecuted those with Western ties in the wake of the country’s 2015 nuclear deal.

However, it remains unclear whether Rouhani has the power within Iran’s clerically overseen government to free those detained, as analysts and family members of those held believe they will be used as bargaining chips in future negotiations.

Siamak Namazi, a 46-yearold businessman who promoted closer ties between Iran and the West, was arrested in October 2015. His 81-year-old father Baquer, a former UNICEF representative who served as governor of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province under the U.S.-backed shah, was arrested in February 2016, apparently drawn to Iran over fears about his incarcerated son.

Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance. The two Namazis, like other dual nationals, faced secret charges in closed-door hearings in Iran’s Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.

In August, their Washington-based lawyer Jared Genser said that they lost an appeal of their convictions for “collaboration with a hostile government,” namely the United States. Iranian authorities later acknowledged they lost their appeal.

In their report, the U.N.’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention dismissed the cases against the two men, saying their case is part of “an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals.”

“There is no evidence either Mr. S. Namazi or Mr. B. Namazi had a criminal record, including in relation to national security offenses,” their report read. “There is nothing to indicate that they have ever acted against the national interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The experts’ report said Iran’s government did not respond to its queries about the Namazis’ case. Iran’s office at the U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday from The Associated Press.