Baquer Namazi's Family Beg Tehran to Grant his Son Furlough for Surgery

The family of Iranian-American hostages Siamak and Baquer Namazi have again raised the alarm about Baquer Namazi’s failing health. The 85-year-old needs surgery in the next few weeks to clear a life-threatening artery blockage, they said following a similar operation in October 2021.

Baquer Namazi has been held in Iran since February 2016, when he was arrested at the airport while visiting his son Siamak, who was jailed the previous October. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison on the opaque grounds of “collaboration with hostile governments”.

Baquer was already suffering from multiple serious health conditions at the time of his arrest, including an arrythmia. The former civil servant’s health has drastically worsened during his time in detention.

He has been hospitalized around a dozen times, undergoing two surgeries, and was finally released on medical furlough in 2018. The judiciary has since commuted his sentence to time served but refuses to allow him to leave the country.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Namazis’ family in Washington called on the Iranian judiciary to grant Siamak furlough from Evin Prison to be with his father during his surgery and recovery.

They added: “The horrific prison conditions, denial of proper care, and overall trauma of the past six and a half years have been devastating for Baquer’s physical and mental health.

“He developed stress-induced, adult-onset epilepsy, as well as severe depression. He is often confused, becomes easily fatigued, and has difficulty moving around and maintaining his balance, which has resulted in several falls.”

Siamak, 50, has been denied furlough since the start of his incarceration, in violation of Iranian domestic law, and even as 100,000 other detainees were temporarily released from some of the country’s rampantly overcrowded prisons during Covid-19.  

His brother Babak said on Tuesday: “Because of Iran’s unconscionable decision to arbitrarily hold a doting grandfather and lifelong humanitarian, and the United States’ continued failure to act decisively on his behalf, we are reliving the torturous nightmare we endured last fall.

“I want nothing more than to be by my dad’s side during this difficult time. Instead I spend each moment wondering if I will ever see him alive again.

“The pain is unbearable. I am begging Iran to show the smallest amount of humanity by allowing Siamak to be with my dad and help take care of him during his recovery. I also call on the US to drastically increase its efforts to obtain my family’s freedom before it’s too late.”