Americans serving 10 years in prison in Iran lose appeal

Almaty. August 29. Silkroadnews – Americans serving 10 years in prison in Iran have lost the appeal, the South African news portal “News 24” reported.
“The Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and his 81-year-old father Baquer, who are among several dual nationals detained in Iran, learned on Sunday that the Tehran Appeals Court denied their appeal, Washington-based lawyer Jared Genser said”, the report reads.
According to J. Genser, Baquer and Siamak suffer health problems related to their imprisonment in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, where political prisoners are kept. The lawyer also stated that Siamak Namazi spent most of his time in solitary confinement, where he was severely interrogated and beaten.
It is reported that the Namazi family fled after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The younger Namazi later returned several times and wrote articles calling for improved ties between Iran and the U.S., urging Iranian Americans to act as a bridge between the rival governments. These efforts raised suspicions among hardliners in Iran. In May 2015, an Iranian site called Fardanews accused him of acting as a part of the Western efforts to infiltrate Iran.
As report reminded, Siamak Namazi was arrested in October 2015. His father, a former representative of UNICEF, who was the governor of the Iranian oil producing province of Khuzestan, under the control of the US-backed shah, was arrested in February 2016.
At the same time, it is explained that Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, thus, detainees cannot receive a consular help. In most cases, the cases of defendants with dual citizenship are considered in closed hearings in the Revolutionary Court of Iran, dealing with cases related to alleged attempts to overthrow the government.