برای خواندن این مطلب به فارسی اینجا را کلیک کنید
Iranian authorities have imprisoned Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old Jewish Iranian American, who is currently serving his sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison. According to reports by HRANA and The New York Times, Hekmati was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to four years in prison for a trip he made to Israel thirteen years ago. His sentence was later reduced to two years following a change in the law that lessened the punishment for travel to Israel and was ultimately further reduced to one year.
Family members told The New York Times they are hopeful that Hekmati will be released on humanitarian grounds, emphasizing that he has no political involvement, his trip to Israel was personal, and that he is currently battling invasive bladder cancer.
Hekmati, an Iranian-American dual citizen, traveled to Iran in May 2025 to visit relatives. However, Iranian security forces prevented him from leaving the country before arresting him in July and transferring him to Evin Prison, where he remains in custody. His family says he has been denied proper medical care and that authorities have limited his access to communication.
Iran and Israel have no diplomatic relations, and Iranian citizens are legally forbidden from visiting Israel or contacting Israeli institutions. The 2011 law, titled the Law on Supporting the Palestinian Cause and Countering Zionist Measures, criminalizes travel to Israel and prescribes two to five years in prison for offenders. The law has occasionally been used to prosecute individuals who visited Israel many years earlier for personal or religious reasons.
Unless the court overturns the conviction, Kamran Hekmati will remain imprisoned until at least mid-2026, despite his advanced age and deteriorating health.
Human-rights advocates argue that Hekmati’s only “crime” was a family trip to Israel more than a decade ago, and that his imprisonment underscores the Iranian judiciary’s disregard for fundamental human rights and due process. They emphasize that his case highlights both the erosion of judicial independence in Iran and the vulnerability of religious minorities, including the Jewish community.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) expresses deep concern over Kamran Hekmati’s imprisonment and calls on the Iranian government to immediately and unconditionally release him on humanitarian grounds so that he can be reunited with his family and secure the medical care he needs. NIAC urges Iranian authorities to respect their international human rights obligations, including fair trial standards and the right to freedom of religion and movement. The Iranian government has often asserted to the Iranian diaspora that it is safe to return to the country, yet persistent arrests of dual nationals like Hekmati – seemingly unconnected to any potential threat to national security – creates a widespread perception that politicized targeting of dual nationals persists.
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