US citizen detained in Iran for 7 years goes on a hunger strike to seek release

Iranian American businessman Siamak Namazi has begun a week-long hunger strike in an effort to push Iran and the United States to negotiate his release from Evin Prison, where he has been held for seven years, as per a report from NPR. Namazi, 51, was arrested in October 2015 on a business trip to Iran and was later convicted on charges of cooperating with a hostile government, meaning the United States. In a letter to US President Joe Biden released by his lawyer, Namazi said that he has the "unenviable title of the longest held Iranian American hostage in history".

He also claimed that his captors enjoy taunting him about this fact. Namazi's lawyer, Jared Genser, stated that Namazi has endured "prolonged solitary confinement, denial of access to medical care, and physical and psychological torture" during his time in Evin Prison. Namazi's father, Baquer Namazi, a retired UNICEF official, was also detained in 2016 when trying to visit his son. Last year, Baquer Namazi was able to leave Iran to receive medical treatment. Siamak Namazi was not included in a prisoner swap that took place in 2016, when the Iran nuclear deal went into effect, and has been excluded from subsequent deals. 

US is working to free Namazi

The United States has repeatedly stated that it is working to free Namazi and other Americans who are unjustly held by Iran. These include Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, both of whom were arrested in Iran in 2018. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that the issue is a top priority and that he works on it every day. In his letter to President Biden, Namazi requested "one minute of your days' time for the next seven days devoted to thinking about the tribulations of the U.S. hostages in Iran." He further stated that he will deny himself food for the same seven days in the hope that President Biden will not deny him this small request.