“This Wednesday, November 22nd, a judicial hearing will be held where the Public Ministry accuses thirteen citizens and supporters of the Citizens for Liberty Party (CxL), including the candidate for Mayor Ismael Gradiz who is fleeing, since he does not trust a partisan judicial system that accuses him as intellectual author of a riot even though he was not even found in the place of the protest. Of the thirteen accused, ten are detained and three are fleeing.

“The hearing is illegally going to be held in the municipality of Ocotal, even though it does not have jurisdiction, since the law mandates that the legal process must be conducted in the same location where the alleged crime is committed. When the residents of the community of El Limon saw that the electoral authorities were marking the blank ballots that they had not used, they jumped the gates and entered several Voting Reception Boards to avoid altering the results. It is reported that the damage caused includes the school gate, 25 meters of torn ceiling, several broken desks, and 5 classroom doors.

“It is important to note that the candidate for mayor of the FSLN, Ms. Liseth Balladares, was the result of the “dedazo,” imposed by the party’s leadership against the will of its own supporters, as reported in the television interview “Esta Noche” the Sandinista leaders of the municipality Juan Raul Carrasco Lumbi and Ramon Rodriguez, who support Humberto Perez, who had already been Mayor on two previous occasions.
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“The electoral fraud starts from the fact that the magistrates are members of the FSLN party and the rest of the territorial structures, the Departmental Electoral Councils and the Municipal Electoral Councils, are controlled by the party, violating the electoral law and the constitution.

Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate & Hostage Nizar Zakka

​“For the first time in years, the U.S. government sent a united and clear message to the Iranian regime that it will no longer tolerate using innocent people such as Nizar Zakka as political leverage. It’s time for responsible parties around the world to step up, follow America’s lead, and strongly urge Iran to release Nizar who remains very sick and who is being refused medical care.”

“For years the Iranian regime has brutally detained and imprisoned Americans and dual-nationals as a matter of policy, in an effort to leverage the freedom of our citizens for political concessions,” Sen. Cruz said. “We have a moral imperative to speak for the silenced and shackled, to hold those responsible in Iran to account for detaining and mistreating our people, and to fight for the release and return of those held hostage by the Islamic Republic of Iran. I am glad that today the Senate has voted in support of this vital measure. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure the United States safely brings our people back to American soil.”

“There are few more egregious violations of human rights and human dignity than to wrongfully imprison innocent people under harsh conditions for purposes of extortion, which the Government of Iran engages in as a matter of state policy and practice,” Sen. Leahy said. “Baquer Namazi, 80 years old and in failing health, is one of several Iranian-Americans being cruelly abused in this manner.  It is imperative that the Administration uses its diplomatic tools to obtain their freedom.”

​Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate & Hostage Nizar Zakka

​Iran negotiated in bad faith, including using innocent civilians such as Mr. Zakka as political leverage during the JCPOA talks. Unlike the Obama administration, the Congress in two resolutions and President Trump, are refocusing U.S. priorities to include the unconditional release of hostages such as Nizar. Allies should follow America’s lead. 

Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate & Hostage Nizar Zakka

​“This week marks two years that Mr. Zakka was unlawfully detained in Iran. Unlike the Obama administration that hid the new Iran hostage crisis from the American people and other nations, unjustly detained persons such as Nizar Zakka finally have a strong voice for liberty in President Trump and his administration.”

​Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate & Hostage Nizar Zakka

​“If you’re traveling to Iran on business or pleasure, let my case be a lesson and a warning to others considering visits to Iran. I’m not the only one. If you value your freedom and are a foreigner, Iran is not safe for you. Don’t come here. I was invited to speak at an Internet ICT conference by Vice President Shahindokht Molaverdi. On my way to the airport I was kidnapped, locked up in Evin Prison, and was falsely charged with espionage. I am innocent and the Iranians know it. There is no rule of law in Iran, and I am a victim of this, especially if you’re a foreigner. I will continue to speak out for freedom and justice.”

​​“As we have said in prior instances of alleged judicial action, Mr. Zakka was subjected to a Star Chamber-like proceeding by certain people in the Iranian government who are more interested in using him, and others, as political pawns in international politics. It’s wrong and inhumane. 

In 1979, Iran held Americans hostages to exact political concessions from the United States. The Iranians are doing it again, but this time Iran is using a different twisted method for what amounts to hostage-taking so that Iran can, among other things, circumvent U.S. and E.U. sanctions or use innocent civilians, such as Nizar, as leverage to negotiate flawed agreements such as the JCPOA. 

In summary, Nizar was invited and given a visa, Nizar was kidnapped, and then Nizar was falsely accused of espionage. It appears that he was targeted for capture so that it coincided during a critical time of the JCPOA negotiations. For these and other reasons, Iran remains a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law. We shall continue to press all governments that can and should help to demand that Iran unconditionally release of Mr. Zakka.

Thursday, 21 September 2017 14:18

​Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate & Hostage Nizar Zakka

​We continue to hope and pray for Nizar’s prompt release from Evin Prison. Nizar has lost more than 70 pounds, continues to suffer from several health ailments, and now he has a very serious gum infection that requires surgery. For reasons that we do not know, Evin prison officials refuse to provide Nizar with the medical attention that he needs. Using health as a weapon is cruel and a violation of human rights.

To secure medical care, Evin Prison guards have even asked Nizar to sign forms in the Persian language, a language that he does not understand. Nizar will not sign these forms because he fears that his jailers may be trying to, again, force Nizar to sign a confession for crimes that he did not commit. We ask that anyone in a position to do so, please help Nizar secure his freedom so that he can be reunited with his family and get the health care that he desperately needs.

​ “It is critical that the United States increase pressure on the Iranian regime to release these Americans,” wrote the Senators. “Time after time, Iran has continued to take American hostages and hold them for political purposes. The international community must not tolerate the practice of hostage taking as a tool of state policy. We urge you to take all steps in the national interest to secure these Americans’ release.”

​“At the request of my sons, and because of the support of the American Congress, I’ve decided to stop my hunger strike. 33 days of hunger strike, and the support of family, friends, and even strangers, has helped me find protection, help, and guidance that I did not have before. I want to thank again the Congress, the American people, for not forgetting about me and other fellow hostages held captive in Iran. I also thank fellow hostages and prisoners in Evin prison, for showing solidarity with my cause, for treating me as brother, this has truly been a gift, a huge difference in how the Iranian government has treated me. I am innocent of the charges against me. I just want to go home and be reunited with my family and friends.”

​“Iran has made it a practice to take American citizens and legal permanent residents as hostages in an effort to exact political and financial concessions. Since the Obama administration paid Iran a $1.7 billion settlement, the Iranian regime has arrested and tried under trumped up charges Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Nizar Zakka, and others. This tactic has caused a great amount of fear and pain for the families and loved ones of these Americans and U.S. legal permanent residents. This hearing is an opportunity for our subcommittee to hear from some of the families themselves the circumstances surrounding their loved ones’ cases. It is also an opportunity to hear from the family of Robert Levinson – the longest held civilian hostage in America’s history – who went missing in Iran in 2007 and has yet to be reunited with his family, despite repeated pledges by the regime to assist in his case.”

​Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate Nizar Zakka