Iranian-American sentenced to prison, allegedly without a trial
Iran has imprisoned a number of dual citizens of the United States and European countries on disputed charges.
An Iranian American man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges, even though his family says his trial took place without him.
The family said Emad Shargi was cleared of the charges in December 2019, but then was informed he was guilty by a court in November, The Associated Press reported.
A judicial official told the news agency that Shargi was free on bail and was arrested while leaving the country for providing military information to other countries. His family, however, told the AP he was convicted without ever having attended a trial following the December 2019 ruling.
The incident is the latest in a series of controversial Iranian arrests of dual citizens in recent years. The scientist Ahmadreza Djalali, a citizen of Iran and Sweden, is another high-profile prisoner. In December, Amnesty International told Al-Monitor that his execution on vague “corruption on earth” charges had been put on hold. There has been no news on his case since then.
