American in Iran prison launches hunger strike, requests Biden to get his release

An American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launched a hunger strike Monday to protest his “soul crushing” plight and that of other Americans held in IranAppeal to President Joe Biden to act to ensure their release

A letter from Evin prison, Tehran to Biden Siamak Namazi To mark seven years since he was expelled from the army, he has declared he will embark on a seven day hunger strike a January 2016 prisoner swap Between the U.S.A. and Iran

“When the Obama administration unconscionably left me in peril and freed the other American citizens Iran held hostage on January 16, 2016, the U.S. government promised my family to have me safely home within weeks,” Namazi wrote. “Yet seven years and two presidents later, I remain caged in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.”

Namazi accused Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and former presidents of having failed him. He also criticised Biden’s inability to meet face-toface with him the families of Americans imprisoned in Iran.

“In the past I implored you to reach for your moral compass and find the resolve to bring the U.S. hostages in Iran home. To no avail,” Namazi wrote. “Not only do we remain Iran’s prisoners, but you have not so much as granted our families a meeting.”

Namazi stated that he wanted Biden to spend one minute per day, for the next week, contemplating the fates of Americans held in Iran. In return, he would not eat.

“All I want sir, is one minute of your days’ time for the next seven days devoted to thinking about the tribulations of the U.S. hostages in Iran. Just a single minute of your time for each year of my life that I lost in Evin prison after the U.S. government could have saved me but didn’t. That is all,” he wrote.

“Alas, given I am in this cage all I have to offer you in return is my additional suffering. Therefore, I will deny myself food for the same seven days, in the hope that by doing so you won’t deny me this small request.”

Namazi was imprisoned in Iran for more years than any American. Iranian authorities sentenced him to 10 years on charges of “collaboration with a hostile foreign government.” The United Nations, human rights organizations and the U.S. government say that the charges are baseless and that his detention is an arbitrary violation of international law.

Baquer Namazi (his elderly father) was detained in 2016 after he traveled to Iran to help his son. Later, he was released on medical furlough. He was then allowed to go. leave the country October. In October, two other U.S. citizens were imprisoned in Iran by Morad Tahbaz, and Emad Sharghi. There are also unknown numbers of legal permanent residents from the U.S. Shahab Dalili.

Namazi claimed that despite his harsh criticisms of the U.S. presidents before him, the main reason for his imprisonment was due to Iran’s ruthless regime. He said he has told his “captors” that he never forgets “that it was not Obama or Trump who imprisoned me on made up charges” and “that it is clear whose vile hostage diplomacy has blighted the lives of so many innocent men and women and their families.”

Iran claims it has not held Americans or other foreigners behind bars on arbitrary charges, and that cases were handled according to its laws.

Officials from the United States state that Iran detention is a top priority. Biden also stated that he is committed to helping all U.S. citizens detained abroad return home safely.

In his letter, Namazi said he had no words to convey “the ineffable pain I’ve endured since Iran took me hostage in October 2015.”

“Nothing I say could possibly convey the agony of having to harden myself to this soul crushing callousness and lawlessness. How does one describe what it feels like to be stripped of your humanity and treated as some sort of extortionately priced item instead?” he wrote.

“How do I explain the devastation my family and I are left with after so many half-hearted prisoner deals crumbled last minute, turning freedom into a chimera?”

Babak Namazi, Namazi’s brother, said in a statement that his family “is of course gravely concerned for Siamak’s health and distraught that he has resorted to such desperate measures.”

“However, we also understand his frustration with the seemingly unending horror he has faced and support his call on both Iran and the U.S. to finally reach a deal to secure the release of all the American hostages.”

This article was first published on NBCNews.com