Baqer Namazi leaves Iran for Oman after being released on humanitarian grounds
Iranian-American citizen Baqer Namazi, who had been convicted in Iran on spying charges, has left the country after being released on humanitarian grounds.
Namazi, 85, was arrested on February 22, 2016, when he flew into the country to visit his imprisoned son Siamak Namazi.
Baqer Namazi was sentenced later that year to 10 years in prison for “collusion with an enemy state,” in reference to the United States.
Iranian state media on Wednesday published a video showing Namazi boarding a private plane to leave Iran for Oman.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi thanked Iran for the humanitarian measure, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on its website.
Oman has always supported the wise positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region and international forums, Albusaidi told his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during a phone call on Tuesday.
Nournews, a website close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reported on Monday that Iran and the US agreed to a prisoner swap involving four Iranian nationals imprisoned in the United States.
Under the agreement, Nournews said, some $7 billion worth of Iran’s frozen funds in South Korea will be transferred to an account in a bank in the Middle East.
However, officials said the release of Baqer Namazi was motivated by humanitarian reasons.
Siamak Namazi was also allowed out of prison on a one-week furlough.
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