Lebanese IT Expert's Health Deteriorates in Iran Prison as Beirut Fails to Act
The family of Nizar Zakka, a Washington-based Lebanese information technology expert, is urging Beirut authorities to press for his release by Iranian authorities after his health deteriorated as a result of his hunger strike.
Zakka, who is the secretary general of the professional computers association of Lebanon (PCA) and the Arab ICT Organization (IJMA3), and vice president of the World IT and Services Alliance (WITSA), was arbitrarily detained in Iran around six months ago.
Zakka mysteriously disappeared in September last year. It was only in late October that the Iranian media announced his arrest on charges of spying.
State TV said at the time Zakka was a “treasure trove” because of “connections with intelligence and military bodies in the U.S.”
He was in Iran after receiving an official invitation to speak at a conference.
In January, four Americans were released from Iranian prison as part of a prisoner exchange deal struck between the U.S. and Iran, but Zakka, whose arrest has been politically motivated, was not among them.
The agreement was the result of 14 months of high-stakes secret negotiations between the two adversaries.
Zakka's health is deteriorating as a result of his hunger strike, his family warned, saying he has not eaten since March 13th.
But the Lebanese government, mainly the foreign ministry, has so far not acted to secure his release.
His brother Ziad has urged Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in an open letter “to help Nizar return to his freedom and family.”
Nizar “is innocent,” he stressed in the letter that was posted on a Facebook support page.
He added that the detainee “has not been allowed to see any representative from the Lebanese Embassy in Tehran, nor the Iranian lawyer appointed for him despite repeated requests by the family.”
G.K.
M.T.
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