Lawyer of Iran-Held Lebanese Man Addresses Open Letter to Berri

The lawyer of a Lebanese man who has been held in Iran for nearly two years has addressed an open letter to Speaker Nabih Berri, urging him to address the case with Iranian officials during his official visit to Tehran.

“We hope and urge you to discuss and address the case of the detainee in Iranian prisons, Mr. Nizar Zakka, who was arrested after arriving in Iran at an official invitation from the Iranian authorities,” the lawyer, Antoine Abu Dib, says in the letter.

“The parliament of another country has tackled Nizar Zakka's case and the injustice he is facing, while the Lebanese parliament is yet to address this national cause,” the lawyer added, noting that Zakka has refused that his case be turned into “a sectarian or a Lebanese political file.”

“We stress that Nizar Zakka did not commit any crime and it has been proven that he was detained in Iran based on wrong and baseless information,” the lawyer emphasized.

The U.S. Congress had last month approved a bill calling on Iran to release Zakka, who has permanent U.S. residency, immediately and unconditionally.

Zakka, 50, went missing on Sept. 18, 2015, during his fifth trip to Iran. Two weeks later, Iranian state TV reported that he was in custody and suspected of "deep links" with U.S. intelligence services.

It showed what it described as an incriminating photo of Zakka and three other men in army-style uniforms, two with flags and two with rifles on their shoulders. But the photo was actually from a homecoming event at Zakka's prep school, the Riverside Military Academy in Georgia, according to the school's president and his brother.

Last September, Zakka was sentenced to 10 years in prison and handed a $4.2 million fine after being convicted of espionage by a security court.

Zakka's family denies the allegations. His brother said he had been invited to attend a conference at which President Hassan Rouhani spoke of sustainable development and providing more economic opportunities for women. He showed The Associated Press a letter of invitation for his brother from Iranian Vice President Shahindokht Molaverdi.

The family has urged President Michel Aoun to raise Zakka's case when he visits Iran in August. Aoun is a close ally of Iran-backed Hizbullah.

Zakka, who used to live in Washington, leads the Arab ICT Organization, or IJMA3, an industry consortium from 13 countries that advocates for information technology in the region.