American businessman released from Tehran prison
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A US resident and Lebanese businessman who was imprisoned for years in Iran has been freed and is on his way back to his native Lebanon, an official in Beirut said yesterday.
Nizar Zakka, held in Iran since 2015, was on a plane accompanied by the chief of Lebanon鈥檚 Directorate of General Security Ibrahim Abbas, heading to the Lebanese capital.
Zakka is one of several prisoners with either dual nationality or links to the West held in Iran. Earlier yesterday, an Iranian judiciary official confirmed that Tehran has agreed to hand over Zakka.
鈥淎 court has accepted the condition of freedom of Nizar Zakka and he will be handed over to Lebanese officials,鈥 judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
In 2016, Iran sentenced Zakka to 10 years in prison. Authorities accused him of being an American spy, allegations vigorously rejected by his family.
Zakka, who lives in Washington and holds resident status in the US, leads the Arab ICT Organization or IJMA3, an industry consortium from 13 countries that advocates for IT technology in the region.
Zakka鈥檚 IJMA3 organization had received at least US$730,000 in contracts and grants since 2009 from the State Department and USAID, the American government agency fighting poverty across the world. Shahindokht Molaverdi, an adviser to Iran鈥檚 President Hassan Rouhani who as a vice president invited Zakka to Iran, said in September that Iran鈥檚 government had 鈥渇ailed鈥 to help Zakka.
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