Tehran urges US to immediately release jailed Iranians
Iran's demand came as expectations were growing for a prisoner swap alongside an EU-mediated possible agreement on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
A senior Iranian judiciary official called on the United States to free Iranian individuals held in American jails, mostly over bypassing US sanctions levied against the Islamic Republic.
"The US has arrested tens of innocent Iranians under the pretext of circumventing its cruel and inhumane sanctions," tweeted Deputy Judiciary Chief for International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi.
Gharibabadi noted that those prisoners "must be freed - effective immediately." He particularly underlined the case of Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, who was charged in the District of Columbia last July over exporting to Iran laboratory equipment that might be of use in developing nuclear arms.
According to Gharibabadi, Kafrani — an Iranian national with Canadian residency — is being "held under dire humanitarian conditions." He also claimed that Kafrani has been forced to pay the rent for the apartment he is kept in and has been denied access to emergency medical care, a policy which he slammed as "barbaric."
