WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. permanent resident detained in Iran since 2016 has started a hunger strike in protest of his exclusion from the recent deal between Washington and Tehran. The deal could potentially result in the release of five Americans jailed in Iran, according to his son on Monday.
Shahab Dalili, 60, a retired shipping captain who had emigrated to the United States, was detained in Tehran in April 2016 during a visit for his father’s funeral. He was charged with aiding and abetting a foreign country and received a 10-year prison sentence, which he is currently serving in Iran’s Evin prison. This facility is known for holding many political prisoners.
Under a complex agreement that is expected to take weeks to implement, Iran may release five detained U.S. citizens in exchange for the unfreezing of $6 billion of Iranian funds in South Korea. In return, Washington would also release several jailed Iranians.
Last week, as a first step of the deal, Iran allowed four detained U.S. citizens to move into house arrest from Tehran’s Evin prison, according to a lawyer representing one of them. A fifth individual was already under home confinement.
Darian, Dalili’s son, expressed his disappointment in his father’s exclusion from the deal. He spoke in a brief telephone interview, stating, “The deal is being done and he’s not part of it. That was very heartbreaking.” Darian himself has also begun a hunger strike to raise awareness about his father’s situation.
During a State Department daily briefing, deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked why Dalili wasn’t included in the deal. Patel did not provide a clear answer but mentioned that Dalili has not been declared “wrongfully detained” yet.
The declaration of “wrongfully detained” is made by the State Department and signifies that the charges against the individual are viewed as politically motivated and false by the U.S. government. This determination allows the State Department to dedicate more resources, assign a special presidential envoy, and increase the visibility of the case.
Patel also didn’t explain why Dalili wasn’t classified as “wrongfully detained.” Dalili’s son, Darian, revealed that he received a phone call on Friday from Abram Paley, the Department’s acting special envoy for Iran. Darian expressed his frustration, saying, “I asked why the (wrongfully detained) designation hasn’t happened yet, and he wasn’t able to provide an answer.”
The State Department declined to comment specifically on Paley’s phone call with Dalili’s son. However, Patel mentioned that the United States regularly reviews individual cases for indications and indicators of potential wrongful detention.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
