The Trump administration slammed Iranian officials on Wednesday for returning Baquer Namazi to prison in Tehran, a week after the ailing U.S. citizen was granted temporary reprieve to undergo a series of medical examinations for a cardiovascular condition.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that President Trump is “deeply concerned” by the Iranian government’s actions against Namazi, an 81-year-old former UNICEF official who the U.S. says has been imprisoned in the country on false charges since February 2016.
“We understand the decision to return Mr. Namazi to prison was made against the strong advice of his doctors and the Iranian regime’s own medical examiner,” Sanders said. “He has been hospitalized four times in the last year and continues to suffer from life-threatening heart problems. He remains in urgent need of sustained medical care, and the United States Government holds Iran fully accountable for his well-being.”
Namazi’s son, Babak, told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that returning his father to prison was a “spectacular display of cruelty” by the Iranian regime, and said his father’s health has rapidly deteriorated since he began serving his 10-year sentence. Babak said his family received a call earlier this week from the Iranian government’s medical examiner, who recommended Nazami be granted a three-month leave from prison.
“Despite the pain inflicted upon my family and myself, I have not lost hope and continue to pray for the great humanitarian causes for which we have all dedicated our lives,” Namazi later said in a statement released by his family.
President Trump repeated his call on Wednesday “for the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained and missing United States citizens in Iran, including Baquer Namazi, his son Siamak Namazi, Xiyue Wang, and Robert Levinson,” Sanders said.
