Iran releases Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian

[superbeets]

Iran has released four Iranian Americans


Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post journalist imprisoned in Iran for more than a year, has been released along with three other dual-nationality prisoners as Tehran nears the implementation of an historic nuclear agreement with western leaders.
Ahead of senior diplomats announcing the lifting of sanctions on Iran later on Saturday, Tehran’s prosecutor said four dual nationals had been released. The move is believed to be part of a prisoner swap with the US.


The closed-door trial of Rezaian began in May when he appeared before a hardline judge on charges of espionage, collecting confidential information and spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic.



The 39-year-old, who holds Iranian and American citizenship, was arrested at his home in Tehran in July 2014 along with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist, and two friends, an Iranian-American couple. The friends were released shortly after their arrest, while Salehi was released on bail in October and is facing a separate trial.
The Iranian-American reporter was held on unspecified charges for more than seven months before appearing in court. He was kept incommunicado for most of his time in jail, with little access to his lawyers and family.

The Mehr news agency said Rezaian was among the released prisoners. “Based on the recent decisions made by the national security council and also based on our ruling system’s national interests, four imprisoned dual nationals were released today,” said senior judiciary official Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, according to Mehr.




The remaining three prisoners are believed to be former marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed Abedini and businessman Siamak Namazi.

 

[superbeets]

Jason Rezaian, 39

Rezaian, who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and holds U.S.-Iranian citizenship, has been the Washington Post's Tehran correspondent since 2012.
He was arrested in July 2014 along with three other journalists, including his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who works for the Abu Dhabi-based National newspaper. The other three were later freed, but Rezaian remained in custody.
He was eventually charged with espionage and other offenses including "collaborating with hostile governments" and "propaganda against the establishment." His employers at the Washington Post called the accusations completely unfounded.
Evidence presented at Rezaian's closed-door trial reportedly included an online job application he submitted in 2008 to then-President-elect Obama's transition team and a U.S. visa application filed on behalf of his wife.

 

[superbeets]

Amir Hekmati, 32

Hekmati, a U.S. Marine veteran from Flint., Mich., was detained at the home of an Iranian relative in August 2011 and sentenced to death for espionage.
Iranian state television broadcast video of a purported confession by Hekmati in which he said he had been sent by the CIA to infiltrate the country's intelligence services. His family believes the statement was coerced.
"He was held in a 1-meter by 1-meter cell, allowed out for only 10 minutes a week to stretch his legs," his sister, Sarah Hekmati, told a congressional hearing in June. "He was beaten on his feet with cables, tasered repeatedly."
She said her brother was in Iran to visit an ailing grandmother and was assured before he went that his U.S. military service would not be an issue.
Hekmati, who was born and raised in the U.S., served as a Marine between 2001 and 2005, including a deployment to Iraq. He later worked as a contractor, providing linguistic and cultural education services to U.S. troops.
An Iranian appeals court overturned the verdict against him in March 2012 and ordered a new trial, which took place late the following year. He was then sentenced to 10 years in prison for "cooperating with hostile governments."

 

[superbeets]

Saeed Abedini, 35

Abedini, a Christian pastor from Boise, Idaho, and father of two young children, was detained in September 2012 while on a visit to Iran, where he was born. He was accused of attempting to undermine national security by establishing churches in private homes.
His family and supporters say he was in the country to help establish an orphanage for street children. They believe he was targeted because he converted from Islam to Christianity and say he has endured repeated beatings by guards and fellow inmates at Rajai Shahr prison outside Tehran.
"My husband remains in prison for nothing more than the peaceful exercise of his faith," his wife, Naghmeh, said in a recent letter to Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, according to excerpts released by the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative Christian-based group. "Saeed is not a threat to Iran or the stability of its government."

 

[superbeets]

It was a swap with the US which freed six prisoners who were held for sanction related charges.

 

[ScottL]

Thanks SB. I hope Jason and his wife decide to live here now. I'm sure The Post can use a restaurant critic. A nice safe job for a reporter with experience and good benefits

 

[SheriffJoe]

Too good to be true? Isn't it always that way with Obama?

Exclusive: In negotiating to free Americans in Iran, U.S. blinked on new sanctions

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive...icans-iran-u-blinked-sanctions-172640511.html

BBC also reporting that in addition to Iranian prisoners being released, they also had to remove 14 Iranians from the Interpol wanted list.

For those keeping count, that's a score of 21-4.

Yep, typical Obama-Kerry foreign policy.

ucking:

 

[superbeets]

Congressman Sherman Statement on Iran Prisoner Swap

Jan 16, 2016

Press Release

Washington DC –Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and former Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism released the following statement regarding the Iran prisoner swap:

"This is a swap, not a gift.

"This is a significant victory for those of us who care about the American hostages and their families. It is also a significant victory for an Iranian regime that has helped kill thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Syrians

"This deal will help Iran develop missiles and nuclear weapons in three ways:

"Iran is subject to limitations on purchase of nuclear and missile technology and needs expertise to evade these controls. First Iran benefits from this deal by showing all those in its evasion network that if they get caught, they will be rescued.”

"Second, the 7 individuals being released will provide Iran with significant expertise in how to evade missile and nuclear control sanctions and how not to get caught next time.

"Third, this deal helps Iran's economy. European businessman will feel a little bit safer in flying to Tehran. Also, it will be harder to pass new sanctions in Congress on Iran because the hostages were the simplest and clearest reason to do so.

"This prisoner swap may be part of a good foreign policy if we impose new sanctions designed to punish Iran for its illegal missile tests and dissuade Iran from killing thousands in Syria and Yemen."

 

[The Guesser]

Of course now the Rabid Warhawks will complain that we gave up "too much", like they always do when a good result happens.

 

[SheriffJoe]

Of course now the Rabid Warhawks will complain that we gave up "too much", like they always do when a good result happens.

GO CHIEFS!

 

[superbeets]

• SHARE PICTURE

​

+10


Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said the prisoner swap 'incentivized people to take Americans hostage' as he spoke in Iowa Saturday






Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio slammed the Obama administration for 'incentivizing people to take Americans hostage and prisoner' by offering a swap.




He told the Washington Post: 'They shouldn't have been in jail. They should never – I just saw Jason's [Rezaian] brother on Tuesday night at the State of the Union. He should have never been in jail, he did nothing wrong.
'This is hostage-taking. It's pure and simple. Saeed Abedini, the same thing. Governments are taking Americans hostage because they believe they can gain concessions from this government under Barack Obama. It's created an incentive for more people to do this in the future.'
Fellow Republican presidential candidates Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump also criticized the deal as not being fair to America.

 

[superbeets]

[h=3]PRISONER SWAP: THE MEN BEING RELEASED AND THEIR ALLEGED CRIMES[/h]As part of the nuclear deal with Iran, America swapped prisoners with the Middle Eastern state today, releasing seven Iranians detained in the U.S. for four men held overseas.
Here are the profiles of those reported to have been released from both sides, and the crimes they were accused of committing to land them in jail:
American prisoners released by Iran

• Jason Rezaian

Born in Marin, California,, Rezanian's father was an Iranian immigrant, which led to his own lifelong fascination with the Middle East and his ancestral home.
Rezanian moved to Tehran to work as a foreign correspondent after college, before being appointed bureau chief for the Washington Post in 2012, according to the BBC.
Arrested by Iranian authorities in July 2014, Rezanian spent nine months in solitary confinement, reportedly suffering both physical and mental health problems.
Tried in secret for espionage he was convicted on October 2015, though no details of his sentence or the evidence against him were ever released

• Amir Hekmati

An American of Iranian descent, Hekmati grew up in Flint, Michigan, and served as a U.S. Marine fighting in Iraq during the second Gulf war.
Imprisoned for espionage while visiting his family in Tehran in 2011, Hekmati was subsequently sentenced to death, though this was later overturned, the New York Times reports.
He was then convicted of serving a hostile country and handed a 10-year prison sentence in 2012, which he was appealing before being released today.

• Saeed Abedini

Raised in Boise, Idaho, Abedini was a convert to Christianity who later began working for the church, eventually becoming a pastor.
In 2012 Abedini was visiting his family in Tehran while also finalizing arrangements for a Christian orphanage he was due to build in Iran, according to the Be Heard Project.
While there, he was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and spent time in solitary confinement, during which he claimed he was beaten and denied medical treatment.
In 2013 he was sentenced to eight years in prison for subverting Iranian security by creating an international network of churches.

• Siamak Namazi

A dual U.S. and Iranian citizen, Namazi worked as the head of strategic planning at the Dubai-based Crescent Petroleum, an oil and gas company.
The son of a prominent Iranian family, his father was once the governor of a province before coming to the U.S. in 1983.
A World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a former public policy scholar at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., he had advocated for closer ties between America and Iran.
While visiting family in Tehran last October, he was detained by Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
There is some confusion over Namazi's release, as Iranian media have also named Nosratollah Khosrawi as the fourth man freed.
Iranian prisoners released by America

• Nader Modanlo

Born in Iran, Modanlo is believed to have moved to the U.S. in 1979 before studying at George Washington University and going on to become a mechanical engineer.
His career included jobs at NASA and the Department of Defense before he was arrested in 2010 and accused of illegally providing satellite services to Iran.
Prosecutors said Mondanlo illegally brokered a deal between Iran and a Russian state-backed company to help his home country launch its first satellite.
He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to eight years in jail, the Huffington Post reports.

• Bahram Mechanic, Tooraj Faridi and Khosrow Afghahi

Iranian-born Mechanic moved to America before making himself a billionaire through his Houston-based electronics company Smart Power Systems.
In April last year Mechanic was arrested after the FBI accused him of being part of a procurement network shipping parts to an Iranian company he also owned to be used in their nuclear program.
Also arrested was Mechanic's nephew, Tooraj Faridi, who was serving as the vice president of Smart Power Systems at the time, along with business partner Khosrow Afghahi, the Houston Chronicle reported.
All three men were awaiting trial before they were released from custody earlier today.

• Nima Golestaneh

An Iranian student studying in Vermont, Golestaneh was accused in 2013 of hacking into the computers of an aerodynamics company to steal millions of dollars worth of computer software.
Detained in Turkey, Golestaneh was deported to the U.S. in February last year in order to face trial, pleading guilty in December. He was awaiting sentencing.

• Arash Ghahreman

Ghahreman was born in Iran but came to the U.S. in 2006 after winning a visa lottery before settling in Staten Island, New York.
Between 2012 and 2013, Ghahreman shipped military-grade navigation equipment overseas to Dubai, where it was collected by a front-company for the Iranian state.
Ghahreman was arrested after a sting by Homeland Security agents, and accused of selling the devices, despite knowing their ultimate location.
In April last year he was sentenced to six and a half years in jail after being found guilty at trial, SI Live reports.

• Ali Saboonchi

A U.S. citizen from Maryland, Saboonchi operated Ace Electric Company from his hometown of Parkville, north of Kansas City.
Starting in November 2009, the FBI claims Saboonchi used his company to export industrial components to Dubai and China, where co-conspirators passed them on to Iran.
In 2014 he was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail, a stretch he was coming to the end of before being released.
Also released...

• Matthew Trevithick

An American student who also worked as a journalist in war-torn nations such as Syria, Mali and Afghanistan was also released by Iran today, though not as part of the prisoner swap.
Trevithick, whose detention was not widely known about until today, had been detained in Tehran in December last year while he was there studying languages.
His family confirmed his release today, though it is unclear why he was detained or what the charges against him were.

 

[superbeets]

+16


Reunited: In a Monday photo provided by the Hekmati family, the family and US Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, Michigan, meet with former Iran prisoner Amir Hekmati, second from right, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. From the left: brother-in-law Dr. Ramy Kurdi, sister Sarah Hekmati, Kildee, Amir Hekmati and sister Leila Hekmati


.

Words of gratitude: Rep. Kildee posted photos of his meeting with Hekmati on Twitter, as well as a message from Hekmati thanking President Obama for ‘making my freedom and reunion with my family possible’

+16


Beaming: In this photo provided by The Washington Post, from left, Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi, his mother Mary Rezaian, and brother Ali Rezaian pose for a photo at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Monday



.

+16


Homecoming: Matthew Trevithick walks with his mother, Amelia Newcomb (L), as he arrives at Logan International Airport after being released by Iran following 40 days in Evin Prison

+16


Diplomacy at work: Trevithick, who was studying in Iran, was released after reported intervention by US Secretary of State John Kerry

+16


Trevithick (far right), the co-founder of a humanitarian crisis research center, had traveled to Iran in



.

+16


Safe and sound: Brett McGurk, the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to counter ISIL, tweeted this picture of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian landing safely in Geneva

+16


Following the brief stop in Switzerland, the three traveled on to the US Air Base in Ramstein, Germany.



.

 

[superbeets]

[h=1]NONE of the seven Iranians freed in the prisoner swap have gone back to Iran: Attorneys for three ex-inmates confirm they are staying in the US while the location of other four is not known[/h]

• The seven former inmates did not show for a flight to Switzerland
• Were set to travel to Geneva where the prisoner swap would take place
• Attorneys for three of the Iranians confirmed they're still in America
• Six of the seven had dual citizenship and many had family living in the U.S.
• It is not known where the other four are currently residing
• One of the American prisoners freed in Tehran decided to stay in Iran

PUBLISHED: 00:58, 20 January 2016 | UPDATED: 01:49, 20 January 2016


None of the Iranians freed in the prisoner swap have returned home and could still be in the United States, it has been reported.
The seven former inmates, who were released as part of a deal with the Islamic republic, did not show up to get a flight to Geneva, Switzerland, where the exchange was set to take place on Sunday.
Three of the Iranians have decided to stay in the United States, ABC reported, with some moving in with their families. However it is not known where the other four are.
Three of the Americans who had been detained in Iran - Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini - left Tehran at around 7am the same day, but weren't met by their counterparts in Switzerland.

+5


Family and friends embrace Bahram Mechanic (in the blue jump suit) and Khosrow Afghahi (in the tan jacket) at Federal Detention Center Houston, Texas, on Sunday. It has since been revealed that none of the Iranian prisoners freed from U.S. custody have flown back to Iran

Daily Mail Online have contacted the State Department for comment.
Six of the seven have dual citizenship and all of them had been convicted or charged with crimes related to selling sensitive equipment to Iran.
Their conduct violated the strict trade embargoes that were lifted over the weekend.
Three of them – Bahram Mechanic, 69, Khosrow Afghahi, 72,and Tooraj Faridi – were part of an alleged conspiracy in Texas to illegally export equipment and supplies.
According to the Department of Justice, the items were frequently used in a wide range of military systems, including surface-air and cruise missiles. Many of them have families living in the United States.
Afghahi's attorney, David Gerger, told ABC the pardon was the right decision and that his client never posed any threat.
'Right now, Mr. Afghahi is spending some precious time with his family in the United States... and probably getting the first good night sleep and hot cup of coffee he's had in nine months.

+5


An attorney for Mechanic said the former inmate has decided to stay with his family in Texas

+5


Afghahi's (pictured) attorney, David Gerger said the freed prisoners was spending some much needed time with his family. He added that he will soon be deciding where he will go

.He added: 'As far as next steps, the family will be making all those decisions as soon as possible.'
An attorney for Mechanic, Joel Androphy, said his client is also spending time with family in Texas.
Kent Schaffer, Faridi's attorney, also his client has no plans to ever leave the United States, and is staying in Houston for the forseeable future.
ABC News was unable to confirm the plans or locations of other Iranians freed in the so-called 'prisoner swap.'
It is not known what has happened to the remaining prisoners, They are: Nader Modanlo, Arash Ghahraman, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Saboonchi.
The fourth American freed was Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, who did not travel on the plane that departed Tehran on Sunday.
The fifth American, Matthew Trevithick, who went to Iran in September to study Farsi at a language center affiliated with Tehran University, was seen in photographs in the Boston Globe returning to family in Massachusetts on Sunday.

.


[h=3]THE SEVEN IRANIAN PRISONERS RELEASED BY THE UNITED STATES[/h]NADER MODANLO, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating the trade embargo and helping Iran launch its first-ever satellite into orbit.
According to court documents, Modanlo was a mechanical engineer who received science and engineering degrees from George Washington University. Modanlo said in court he was an internationally recognized expert on strategic policy and finances affecting the space-based telecommunications industry, and that he managed space and science programs for private companies, the Department of Defense and NASA.

+5


Mehcanic, a dual citizen who lives in Houston, was indicted last year on charges he illegally exported millions of dollars in U.S. technology to Iran

BAHRAM MECHANIC, a dual citizen who lives in Houston, was indicted last year on charges he illegally exported millions of dollars in U.S. technology to Iran.
Mechanic, 69, is the co-owner of Iran-based Faratel Corporation and its Houston-based sister company Smart Power Systems. Faratel designs and builds uninterruptible power supplies for several Iranian government agencies, including the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iranian Centrifuge Technology Company, according to the charges.
The technology Mechanic sold to Iran is used in a wide range of military systems, including surface-air and cruise missiles. Between July 2010 and 2015, Mechanic's network allegedly obtained 28 million parts valued at about $24 million worth and shipped them to Iran through Taiwan and Turkey. Among the parts shipped were microelectronics and digital signal processors, according to the indictment.
'Everything about the government's allegations were false,' Houston-based attorney Joel Androphy said. 'The government created an aura of hysteria to keep him incarcerated.'
Androphy said that Mechanic, who was released early Sunday morning, plans to continue living in Houston.
'He's going to enjoy a nice rest of the weekend with his wife and then get back to work probably tomorrow,' Androphy said.



KHOSROW AFGHAHI
Afghahi co-owns Faratel Corporation in Iran and Houston-based Smart Power Systems with Mechanic, according to an indictment.
U.S. prosecutors say Afghahi helped Mechanic to illegally provide U.S. technology to Iran.
Houston-based attorney David Gerger says the charges against his client were 'wrong.'
'Freeing Khosrow Afghahi is the correct result,' Gerger said. 'He is a 72 year old businessman who has never been in trouble. He is a good man, and we will be happy to put this ordeal behind him.'
Gerger said that Afghahi lived mostly in Iran but became a U.S. citizen so he could more easily visit his family. Gerger said Afghahi was arrested in April while visiting family in Los Angeles.
Gerger said his client was released from the federal detention center in Houston early Sunday morning.
He said that Afghahi is getting to 'spend precious time with his family . and probably have his first cup of hot coffee in nine months.'



TOORAJ FARIDI
Faridi, 46, is vice president of a Smart Power Systems and along with Afghahi assisted Mechanic in the illegal transfer of U.S. technology to Iran, according to court documents.
Mechanic, assisted by Afghahi and Faridi, also of Houston, regularly received lists of commodities, including U.S.-origin microelectronics, sought by Faratel in Iran, according to an indictment.
Houston-based attorney Kent Schaffer said Faridi, who had remained free on bond, did nothing to jeopardize national security or violate trade sanctions.
'I always felt he would be vindicated at trial, but at least the president's action allows him to get on with his life,' Schaffer said.
He said his client plans to continue living in Houston.



ARASH GHAHRAMAN
Ghahraman, 46, was sentenced to more than six years in prison last year for violating the trade embargo after he participated in a scheme to purchase marine navigation equipment and military electronic equipment for illegal export to Iran.
Prosecutors argued in court the naturalized U.S. citizen, who lived in Staten Island, New York, acted as an agent of an Iranian procurement network and used a front company in Dubai to illegally acquire U.S. goods and technologies to be sent to Iran.
A maritime engineer, Ghahraman also worked at shipyards in the U.S.



NIMA GOLESTANEH
Golestaneh, an Iranian national, pleaded guilty to hacking the computer system of Arrow Tech, a Vermont-based aerodynamics company and U.S. defense contractor, to steal software.
Golestaneh, 30, was arrested in Turkey in 2013 and extradited to the United States last year. He was the only Iranian released Saturday who doesn't have dual citizenship.

+5


Nima Golestaneh, an Iranian national, pleaded guilty to hacking the computer system of Arrow Tech, a Vermont-based aerodynamics company and U.S. defense contractor, to steal software




ALI SABOONCHI
Saboonchi, 35, was convicted in 2014 of exporting industrial products to Iran though companies in China and the United Arab Emirates.
A U.S. citizen who was living in Parkville, Maryland at the time of his arrest, Saboonchi conspired with others to evade the Iran Trade Embargo and export to Iran numerous industrial parts, including hydraulic valves and connectors; and liquid pumps and valves, which can be used in the oil, gas, energy, aerospace and defense industries, authorities said.
His public defenders, Lucius Outlaw and Elizabeth Oyer, said in a statement Sunday morning that Saboonchi's release 'shows that he poses no danger to the American people.'
'Ali Saboonchi is a beloved and hard-working family man and American. He was born in the U.S. and is proud to be raising his young family here. His arrest and incarceration were devastating to his many friends and family,' the attorneys said. 'Ali is thrilled and grateful for his release and return to his family.'


.

 

[Knightrofins]

What about Bob??????