WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Congressman Tom Suozzi announced that his constituent, Kamran Hekmati of Great Neck, who has been imprisoned by the Iranian regime for over 300 days, was last night designated a wrongful detainee by U.S. State Department. This development comes after months of advocacy from Suozzi, including leading a bipartisan letter alongside Congresswoman Tenney (R-NY) to Secretary Rubio that directly requested the State Department classify Mr. Hekmati as a wrongful detainee under the Levinson Act.
“This is a clear, cut-and-dry case of wrongful detention,” said Congressman Suozzi. “Mr. Hekmati and the numerous other Americans being imprisoned in Iran are not being held not for any crimes they committed, but because they’re an American. In Mr. Hekmati’s case, a Jewish American.”
Designating Mr. Hekmati as a ‘wrongful detainee’ triggers the U.S. Government to deploy all possible levers—diplomatic, legal, and economic—to secure his release.
“This is a promising step,” Congressman Suozzi continued. “I am grateful to Secretary Rubio and the State Department for designating Mr. Hekmati as a wrongful detainee. We now need the Administration to bring him home as soon as possible. It could not be more urgent. I am calling on them to prioritize his case at the highest levels—that is the only way he will safely return home.”
Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old resident of Great Neck, has been unjustly imprisoned for over 10 months in Evin Prison, a notorious prison in Iran known for holding political prisoners and for engaging in abuse and torture. Mr. Hekmati was detained after traveling to Iran on family business, a trip he had previously made on multiple occasions without issue. His alleged crime was attending his son’s bar mitzvah in Israel 13 years ago, though Iran’s own laws state that an individual must not have visited Israel only within the last ten years.
“I will continue to use every option available to me to push for Mr. Hekmati’s release,” Suozzi concluded.
I like how you presented both sides of the argument fairly.
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