AP Interview: Adviser says Iran failed detained US resident
TEHRAN, Iran — A top adviser to Iran’s president on human rights said that the government “failed” to help a U.S. permanent resident imprisoned over spying allegations that she personally invited to the country for a conference.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Shahindokht Molaverdi acknowledged the limits a civilian government faces when challenging the actions of the judiciary in the Islamic Republic, especially when dealing with cases involving the imprisonment of foreigners and activists.
She cited the case of Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-born internet freedom advocate living in the U.S., who she invited to a conference in September 2015. The hard-line Revolutionary Guard later arrested Zakka on his way to the airport, and he was later sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges in a closed-door trial before a Revolutionary Court.
“This is in no way approved by the government,” Molaverdi said. “We did all we could to stop this from happening, but we are seeing that we have failed to make a significant impact.”