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The businessman
was on a list published last month by the official Islamic
Republic News Agency and the Tabnak website of four prisoners to
be freed in a prisoner exchange with the United States. His name
was later withdrawn from the list with no explanation.
Five Iranian-American groups have written to U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry urging him to work to release Namazi, who they
said was "left behind" after the prisoner swap.
Namazi was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
while in Iran visiting family. Officials have yet to announce
charges against him.
Namazi's 80-year-old father Baquer Namazi was arrested on Monday
after traveling to Iran to try to visit his son in Evin prison.
On Saturday, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei
mentioned the case in answer to international media reports that
Siamak Namazi had been denied access to a lawyer, Tasnim news
agency reported.
He was quoted as saying: "According to the criminal code,
lawyers should be approved by the head of the judiciary in
security cases ... therefore if a lawyer is presented according
to these rules he will be accepted, whether on this case or any
other."
"There is one law for all accused," Ejei added. Iran does not
recognize dual nationality.
Last week, the younger Namazi's attorney and family said he had
been denied access to his lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei.
Tabatabaei said he was representing Namazi but had not been
informed of the charges his client faces.
Iran released four Iranian-Americans and one other U.S. citizen
last month in a prisoner swap with the United States, which
granted clemency to seven Iranians and dropped arrest orders for
14 others.
Iran is believed to be holding several other dual nationals,
including Iranian-British citizen Kamal Foroughi, who was
arrested in 2011 while working in Tehran as a business
consultant. Iran's judiciary spokesman said this month that most
of the detained dual nationals face espionage charges.
(Reporting by Sam Wilkin; Editing by William Maclean and
Catherine Evans)
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