Tamer Salman/Now Lebanon/Nizar Zakka Is Caught between Iran’s injustice and Lebanon’s negligence/نزار زكا اللبناني يقبع في سجون الملالي منذ شهر أيلول 2015 وحكومة سلام في غيبوبة كاملة وتتجابن عن الإهتمام بملفه
Nizar Zakka Is Caught between Iran’s injustice and Lebanon’s negligence
Tamer Salman/Now Lebanon/July 21/16
The Lebanese businessman has been languishing in Iranian prison since 2015/ Nizar Zakka has been in Iranian prisons since September 2015.
نزار زكا رجل أعمال لبناني يقبع في سجون الملالي الفرس منذ شهر أيلول 2015 في حين أن حكومة تمام سلام المريضة والتابعة للمحتل الإيراني هي في غيبوبة كاملىة وتتجابن عن الإهتمام بملفه
The case of Lebanese businessman Nizar Zakka resurfaced last week as news of his official indictment spread through Lebanese and international news agencies. Zakka, a Lebanese citizen who also happens to be a permanent resident in the United States, has been in Iranian prison since September 2015, when he was arrested in Tehran after attending a conference he was invited to by the Iranian Department of Women Affairs. His permanent residency in the United States was not enough for the Department of State to handle the case, which meant that Lebanon had the rare opportunity of negotiating with Iran for the release of the businessman. Unfortunately for Zakka, this responsibility fell on the shoulders of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil – a key ally of Iran-sponsored Hezbollah.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been criticized for its negligence towards Zakka’s case despite claims by Bassil that the ministry has been following up on the case since the beginning. When news of the indictment first circulated, NOW contacted the ministry for further information on the indictment. Initially, the ministry’s press officer Nana Faysal took our questions and promised to get back to us once they were answered by the subject-matter experts at the ministry. After waiting for several days, the response came that the person who can answer any questions about Zakka’s case is out of the country. This prompted the ministry’s press officer to direct us to the ministry’s last statement on Zakka’s case which, disappointingly, dated back to April 6 and was actually included in NOW’s last report on the issue. This exchange between NOW and the ministry spoke volumes about the lack of effort and disregard the minister has shown for Zakka’s imprisonment. To date, it is still unclear for what crime Zakka has been charged with and what type of punishment he could be facing.
Most of what we can currently glean about Zakka’s plight comes from his friend – American politician David Ramadan, who appeared on an Al-Arabiya special report about Zakka last week. In the interview, Ramadan claims that neither Zakka, nor his wife or lawyer, were told about the indictment, only finding out about the court’s decision through the media. Ramadan denied all of the accusations directed at Zakka and insisted that his incarceration is politically motivated. The claims that Zakka had any connections to the US army were ridiculed by Ramadan as he noted that the Iranian media has been using photos of Zakka in army uniform from his days at Riverside Military Academy – Zakka’s high school. Ramadan went on to say that: “Zakka has become a victim of the politics of the two countries (Iran and USA).” Ramadan also added that the United States should be trying to secure the release of Zakka, even if he is only a permanent resident, because it also has an obligation to protect those who work and reside in the United States – especially since the detainment of Zakka can easily be connected to his residency in the states.
Iran has been notorious for jailing journalists – especially Iranian nationals who work abroad and are usually critical of the regime. Jason Rezaian and Maziar Bahari are only two of the better-known examples. But Zakka is neither Iranian nor a journalist and he hasn’t criticized the regime on record, which makes his situation even more unclear. It remains to be seen whether Iran is considering another prisoner swap with the United States, similar to the one made earlier in the year. Lending credence to this theory is that Zakka was indicted with three other prisoners who happen to be dual-citizens holding Iranian and other Western citizenships. Given the current response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the general climate of inaction in Lebanon, it may be the only hope for Zakka.
