At long last, 5 Americans are returning home after enduring brutal conditions in an Iranian Jail. It finally happened when Qatar mediated a trade that involved 6 billion dollars being transferred.
The Prisoners consist of 51-year-old businessman Siamak Namazi, who spent almost eight years in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison, as well as businessman Emad Shargi, age 59, and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, age 67.
After the trade was completed, the American citizens were subsequently flown to Qatar’s capital. Upon arriving, they were met by US officials and flown to Washington.
According to US officials, its citizens were thrown in jail on groundless charges because the Iranian government was trying to convince the US to release Iranian citizens in the US Jail.
Five Iranians were also held in US jails, mainly for violating US sanctions, they were returned as a part of the deal. However, not all are expected to return to Iran.
President Biden released a statement regarding their overdue return, saying that 5 Americans were finally coming home; and acknowledged the years of uncertainty, and agony they suffered.
The former prisoners expressed their gratitude for all those who refused to forget them and for speaking up for them when they could not.
Morbad Tahbaz, one of the prisoners, was arrested in 2018 while examining endangered wild Asiatic cheetahs but was instead spying. Despite denying the charge, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
Another one of the captives was Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based oil executive arrested in 2015. He was promptly sentenced to 10 years for working with the enemy.
Similarly, Emad Shargi was detained when he illegally attempted to cross Iran’s western border. The other two Americans wanted to remain anonymous as to maintain their privacy.
And while their return is an enormous relief, US officials said they will be weary of similar incidents in the future so they can avert them.
This collaboration between Qatar and the US has been a rare occurrence, but Qatar government has commented that they hope they can work together to dissolve other disputes.
