Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter recently freed by Iran after being imprisoned for 18 months, shared what he wants to do when he gets back to the U.S.
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U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee of MI meets with former Iran prisoner Amir Hekmati, second from right, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany.
“Why did Iran prisoner swap not include my father?” asked Sarah Moriarty, daughter of ex-FBI agent Robert Levinson, who has been missing for nine years. This was a release from prison or a decision not to prosecute people who had betrayed their adopted country in exchange for wrongly imprisoned Americans.
Ali Rezaian said his brother had recounted to him some aspects of the 545 days he was held in Iranian custody after being accused of espionage.
A deal had been negotiated between Washington and Tehran for the swap, but, with just hours to go, Iranian authorities held his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and mother, Mary, in a separate room without telephones.
Hekmati, appearing calm and healthy, wore a heavy black sweater and jeans as he met journalists near the entrance to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center with his brother-in-law and Rep. Daniel Kildee, the Democratic congressman from his district in MI. US officials have said they are not sure if he is still alive.
Now, the prisoners’ release – helped by the diplomatic bond between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif – is giving new hope to two Canadian permanent residents behind bars in Iran.
“It’s like being born again, and I just really feel proud to be an American”, Hekmati said, adding that news of his release came as a surprise. The sanctions, which applied to 11 people and companies, were issued under US restrictions that remain in place despite the lifting Saturday of worldwide sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Nader Modanlo, Arash Ghahreman and Ali Saboonchi had their sentences commuted, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Matthew Trevithick, an American detained only recently in Iran, was released earlier and flew home on a commercial flight.
But he fretted that the Iranians would back out at the last minute.
“As soon as we got out of Iranian airspace, champagne bottles were popped”, he told reporters.
Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, was arrested in July 2014 on trumped-up charges. A fourth American released in exchange for the USA pardoning or dropping charges against seven Iranians opted to stay in Iran, and a fifth American was released separately.
Hekmati went on to say that he had reached a point in his captivity where he had resigned himself to spending 10 years in prison.
He was found guilty a year ago and sentenced to a prison term, but the court disclosed neither the specific charges on which he was convicted nor the length of the term.
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Hekmati’s comments mark the first time the public has heard from one of the freed captives. But Obama and other senior USA officials have said they repeatedly demanded that Iran free the Americans.
