November,03 2024
An Iranian-American who once worked for Radio Farda is believed to have been jailed by Iran for months now, US authorities said November 3.
The imprisonment of Reza Valizadeh, acknowledged to The Associated Press by the US State Department, came as Iran marked the 45th anniversary of the American Embassy seizure and the start of the infamous crisis surrounding the holding of 52 Americans hostage.
In February, Valizadeh wrote on X that some of his family members had been detained in an effort to coerce him to return to Iran.
In August, Valizadeh apparently posted two messages suggesting he had returned to Iran despite the Islamic Republic’s numerous threats over the years against anyone linked to Radio Farda, viewed by Iran’s theocracy as a hostile outlet. He left the organization in November 2022.
“I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, I had unfinished negotiations with the Pasdar intelligence department,” the message read in part. “Eventually I came back to my country after 13 years without any security guarantee, even a verbal one.”
Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Valizadeh had been detained. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which monitors cases in Iran, said he had been detained on arrival, but later released.
He was then rearrested and sent to Evin prison, where he now faces a case in Revolutionary Court, which routinely holds closed-door hearings in which defendants face secret evidence, the agency reported. Valizadeh had faced arrest in 2007 as well, it said.
The State Department told the Associated Press that it was “aware of reports that this dual US-Iranian citizen has been arrested in Iran” when asked about Valizadeh.
“We are working with our Swiss partners who serve as the protecting power for the United States in Iran to gather more information about this case,” the State Department said. “Iran routinely imprisons US citizens and other countries’ citizens unjustly for political purposes. This practice is cruel and contrary to international law.”
Iran has not acknowledged detaining Valizadeh.
In September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in US custody. Valizadeh is the first American known to be detained by Iran since.
