Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Nizar Zakka
The following statement was issued by Mr. Nizar Zakka’s attorney in the United States, Mr. Jason Poblete related to Nizar’s unlawful detention as a hostage in Iran’s Evin detention facility. On December 8, 2016, Nizar began a hunger strike to raise awareness about his plight as well as others being unlawfully imprisoned by the Iranian government. Mr. Zakka was detained by Iranian officials in September 2015 in Tehran and has since been held hostage by the Iranian regime. Since that time, Nizar has been subjected to not only physical and psychological torture, but he has also been denied much needed medical attention and consular services. Mr. Zakka’s attorney has and will continue to press the U.S. State Department and other interested parties to do more to secure the unconditional release of Nizar and all other U.S. hostages. UPDATE 3- Zakka Starts Hung... by pobletetamargo on Scribd
Prior Statements and Related Information:
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based NGO with offices in the United States, published an update on an ongoing effort to help Cuban families stay in their homes and worship free from government intereference:
Two years after government orchestrated mobs to target his home, Reverend Yiorvis Bravo is renewing his call to the Cuban government to recognise his ownership of the property, which also serves as the headquarters of his denomination. Reverend Bravo Denis has been fighting for two years for his right to be recognised as the legal owner of his home, which also acts as the national headquarters of the Apostolic Movement, a Protestant denomination which the government refuses to register. He and his family face the threat of eviction at any time. This week Reverend Bravo Denis told Christian Solidarity Worldwide that state security officers continue to harass his friends and members of the church because of their connection to him, while his family has expressed concern at recent unexplained damage to the front of the home. The law firm Poblete Tamargo, which represents Reverend Bravo Denis, told CSW that they are concerned at the length of time the IAHRC is taking. “While our client’s rights continue to be trampled by the communist government of Cuba, the Commission is taking an unusually long time reviewing this case. Our client hopes that the Commission, and other interested parties in Washington DC, will be a little more proactive,” said lawyer Jason Poblete. Read the entire CSW post here.
Monday, 19 September 2016
U.S. Needs to Do More to Secure Nizar Zakka’s Unconditional Release One year ago, as of yesterday, Internet/ICT professional Mr. Nizar Zakka was unlawfully detained by Iranian authorities on the streets of Tehran. Mr. Zakka, a U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and Lebanese national, was invited by the Iranian government to attend a conference in Tehran. The following press release by Mr. Zakka’s U.S. lawyer, Mr. Jason Poblete, comes after Amnesty International released a second “Urgent Action” alert on the deterioration of Mr. Zakka’s health, which he has yet to receive necessary medical attention for. The Amnesty International “Urgent Action” alert issued on September 16, can be found here. The first “Urgent Action” alert from May 23, can be found here. U.S. LPR/ICT Professional H... by pobletetamargo on Scribd Friday, 23 September 2016 On Thursday, September 22, Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, offered an amendment during the Floor debate of on H.R. 5931 – Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act. The measure, which passed in the House, included an amendment by Rep. Pompeo that prohibit ransom payments to any nation and sanctions Iranians responsible for holding U.S. nationals, including citizens as well as U.S. Legal Permanent Residents. In his remarks, Rep. Pompeo discussed the unlawful detention of Mr. Nizar Zakka, a U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and internet freedom advocate who was sentenced earlier this week to 10 years prison – a hostage of the Iranian regime (see video embedded below). Mr. Zakka was kidnapped after traveling to Tehran for a conference at the invitation of the Iranian government to discuss women’s empowerment and the Internet. Rep. Pompeo released the following statement after the bill was approved by the House of Representatives: “Although the American people consider prohibitions on ransom payments to be U.S. policy, given the administration’s recent actions, we have to make this prohibition explicit.” More information on the detention and unjust verdict handed down against Mr. Zakka, please read more here.
Monday, 29 June 2015
Radio Marti released a follow up report on June 26 discussing the current status of a request for precautionary measures that was submitted by Poblete Tamargo LLP on May 20th to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights on behalf of Reverend Yiorvis Bravo Denis and the Apostolic Movement in Cuba. Despite the submission of the precautionary measures, Cuban authorities have continued harassing and intimidating the pastor and church members. Reverend Bravo Denis’ home, which is also used as a church, is under threat of confiscation by the government. The government-sponsored harassment is part of a larger campaign to restrict religious liberty and property rights in Cuba. Since at least 2007, the members of the Apostolic Movement have been targeted by the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The previous leader of the Apostolic Movement had been a prisoner of conscience until he was granted political asylum in the United States just a few years ago. Now, Reverend Bravo Denis, the current leader of the religious movement, is also dealing with the very same issues as his predecessor. Immediately following the broadcast on Television Marti, on June 30, Cuban Government officials intercepted Reverend Bravo Denis at the Airport in San Jose as he was preparing to go to a conference in Peru. Marti Noticias covers the most recent government interference and explains that the government officials prohibited the Reverend from traveling because of the claims that he is a debtor of the Cuban State for the property in Camaguey. The article on Marti Noticias, and the most recent developments are available here. The European-based NGO, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has been working with the movement on this matter for many years, in addition to other various cases of religious persecution throughout Cuba. To learn more about their campaign visit CSW’s website, here. The broadcast highlighting this story, aired on June 26, is available on the Television Marti website. Wednesday, 27 May 2015
In a radio interview with Radio Martí news, Jason Poblete discuses a request for precautionary measures that was deposited on May 20, 2015 with the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights on behalf of the Apostolic Movement in Cuba and its leader, Reverend Yiorvis Bravo Denis. The case centers around a long-term dispute with Cuban government officials to confiscate property owned by the Apostolic Movement in Camagüey, Cuba that is used as a home and church. It is part of a larger campaign by the Cuban government to restrict religious liberty and property rights on the island. Reverend Bravo Denis and members of the Apostolic Movement in Cuba have been targeted, since at least 2007, by the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The former head of the Apostolic Movement was a former prisoner of conscience, but was granted political asylum in the United States a few years ago. A European-based NGO, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has been working on this matter for many years, in addition to other cases of religious persecution throughout the island. You can learn more about their campaign here. The Radio Martí story and interview is available here. From The Washington Examiner
August 4, 2016 A Lebanese citizen and permanent US resident, Nizar Zakka has lived in Washington, D.C. for many years. He was arrested in Iran last September while on travel to attend an International Conference and Exhibition on Women in Sustainable Development. Zakka was invited to serve as an event speaker by an Iranian official. During that visit he was arrested in Iran and has been detained in long-term solitary confinement since last September under nonspecific charges. Jason Poblete, attorney for Zakka, says that his health is deteriorating, especially during the past months, and that he is on a hunger strike to protest his harsh treatment. “The family is concerned about his well-being and they are asking the US government and anybody who can to please help secure his release,” Poblete told the Washington Examiner. Zakka was working on a US government grant when he traveled to Iran. Amnesty International reported that Zakka had helped to set up a “regional alliance of information and technology organizations” across over a dozen companies in the Middle East and North Africa region. The latest reports that the US had sent Iran $400 million cash payment at the same time that American prisoners were sent home has many, including Poblete, worried that it was essentially a ransom, and that Iran may seek additional concessions before Zakka is released. “We hope that our government is not salvaging the [nuclear deal] on the backs and lives of these innocent people, including Mr. Zakka,” Poblete said. According to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual, however, the US government has wide discretion in advocating for legal permanent residents. “At times, you will come across arrest cases of individuals who are not US citizens or nationals but who are legal permanent residents with strong ties to the United States,” the manual states. “Their arrest may come to your attention from other family members in the United States, other prisoners, congressional offices, or even host government officials who on occasion are not quite clear on the exact status of a US ‘green card’ holder.” “The department’s general guidance in such cases is: While consular officers do not have the right to demand consular access and visitation for US Lawful Permanent Resident Aliens (LPRs), they may do so on a courtesy basis.” The complete article in the Washington Examiner can be found here.
Friday, 04 November 2016
Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Nizar Zakka The following statement was released by Mr. Nizar Zakka’s attorney in the United States, Mr. Jason Poblete on the continued unlawful detention of the US Legal Permanent Resident as he celebrates another birthday in Evin Prison. Today also marks the aniversary of the 1979 hostage taking and seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran. As Mr. Poblete states, “37 years ago today students chanting “Death to America” acting on orders of radical Iranian clerics took 52 Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The ordeal would last 444 days and would mark the beginning of the regime’s war against “the Great Satan” and its people.
Mr. Poblete continues to urge the United States government and other responsible parties to take immediate action to secure his unconditional release on humanitarian grounds.
UPDATE 2- Statement on the ... by pobletetamargo on Scribd
To read the above press release in Arabic, go here.
Prior Statements and Related Information:
Monday, 19 September 2016
U.S. Needs to Do More to Secure Nizar Zakka’s Unconditional Release One year ago, as of yesterday, Internet/ICT professional Mr. Nizar Zakka was unlawfully detained by Iranian authorities on the streets of Tehran. Mr. Zakka, a U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and Lebanese national, was invited by the Iranian government to attend a conference in Tehran. The following press release by Mr. Zakka’s U.S. lawyer, Mr. Jason Poblete, comes after Amnesty International released a second “Urgent Action” alert on the deterioration of Mr. Zakka’s health, which he has yet to receive necessary medical attention for. The Amnesty International “Urgent Action” alert issued on September 16, can be found here. The first “Urgent Action” alert from May 23, can be found here. U.S. LPR/ICT Professional H... by pobletetamargo on Scribd On September 21, the House of Representatives approved passage H.R. 5708, the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017 that, if it becomes law, will prohibit loans to the government of Nicaragua by international financial institutions unless Nicaragua takes steps to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections as well as the rule of law.
In an interview with Nicaragua’s leading newspaper, La Prensa, PobleteTamargo attorney Jason Poblete said that the NICA law could also lead to economic sanctions being imposed on Nicaraguan officials who violate human rights or ignore the rule of law. The Congress is requesting that executive branch agencies “investigate what is happening in Nicaragua [and] if there are violations of human rights, exclude all those involved in corruption (in Nicaragua) of privileges granted by the United States,” such as visas or, eventually, access to the U.S. financial system Poblete said. A companion measure was introduced in the Senate earlier this month, S.3284. The entire article is available at the La Prensa website. |
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