ALBAWABA - Iran has put Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old Iranian-born American Jew, in jail for a trip he took to Israel 13 years ago. This case is getting a lot of attention around the world and raising concerns about how Tehran treats people with dual citizenship.
Israeli Channel 12 says that Hekmati moved from Iran to the U.S. when he was 13 and is a citizen of both countries. He went to Iran a few months ago for a short visit with family.
As soon as he got to Iran, the government arrested him and sent him to Evin Prison, which is known for holding political prisoners.
His family says that he was arrested after officials found out that he had gone to Israel in 2011 for a family event.
Court Decision and Shorter Sentence
An Iranian court gave Hekmati four years in prison in August because it is against the law for Iranians to go to Israel. The sentence was cut down to two years after an appeal.
Iran doesn't allow dual citizenship, so they only saw Hekmati as an Iranian citizen, even though he had an American passport. His family has filed another appeal asking for his release on humanitarian grounds, saying he has bladder cancer and is in serious condition. They say he doesn't work in politics and that his trip to Israel was only for personal reasons. Relatives also said that he was sentenced without a lawyer and that he didn't get one until after the decision.
A Rare Instance
The New York Times said that this is the first time in a long time that Iran has arrested an American Jew just for going to Israel on a private trip.
Warnings About Tensions Getting Worse
Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American who spent eight years in an Iranian prison before being freed in a prisoner swap in 2023, spoke out against what Tehran did, saying:
"Iran is once again making things worse with the U.S. and Israel by putting Hekmati and others like him in jail."
Human rights groups say that the case could make diplomatic relations worse and show that dual nationals who travel to Iran are still at risk.
