Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, and Saeed Abedini Freed From Iran in Prisoner Swap

DEVELOPING: PPD has learned that four Americans held prisoners in Iran–including Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, and Saeed Abedini–have been released. The three Americans, as well as one yet to be identified, were released in a prisoner swap for six Iranians.

The announcement comes as Iran and the international community are expected Saturday to complete a deal in which Tehran verifies the curtailment of its efforts to build a nuclear weapon in exchange for getting back $100 billions in frozen assets.

A report by the semi-official ISNA news agency quotes a statement from the Tehran prosecutor’s office as saying the inmates were freed “within the framework of exchanging prisoners,” but offered little more in details.

Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in August 2011 while visiting his grandmother for allegedly spying for the CIA. On 9 January 2012, he was sentenced to death on account of the charges. On 5 March 2012, the Iranian Supreme Court overturned the death sentence, and ordered a retrial. The judges had found the verdict against Hekmati was “not complete” and referred his case to an affiliate court.

Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, were arrested on July 22, 2014, after Iranian authorities raided his Tehran residence. While Salehi, who is also a journalist, was released on October 6, Rezaian remained in imprisoned at Evin Prison, a detention center in Tehran known for housing political prisoners and intellectuals.

On April 20, 2015, Iranian authorities announced they had indicted Rezaian on four charges, including espionage and “propaganda against the establishment.” Rezaian’s trial began on May 26, 2015, and his conviction was announced on October 11, 2015. On November 22, 2015, Iranian officials said he had been sentenced to a prison term, but did not disclose the number of years.

Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American Christian pastor, was detained by Iran in the summer of 2012 and incarcerated in Evin Prison in September 2012. On January 27, 2013, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for undermining national security for holding private religious gatherings in Christian homes in the early 2000s. In November 2013, the Iranian government transferred Abedini to Rajai Shahr prison, just outside Karaj, Iran.

While the Washington Post did not confirm Rezaian had been released, PPD can confirm that notifications had been sent to the Abedini informing them of his release. Further, Robert Alan “Bob” Levinson, an American private investigator and retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and FBI agent, was considered missing in Iran. He was taken hostage on March 9, 2007 when visiting Iran’s Kish Island while supposedly researching a cigarette smuggling case, and it is unclear whether he is the fourth prisoner involved in the exchange.