MEDIA ADVISORY – Son of Hostage in Iran Nizar Zakka, Omar Zakka, Will Testify in Congress

The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa will be holding a hearing, “Held for Ransom: The Families of Iran’s Hostages Speak Out” to discuss American citizens and U.S. Legal Permanent Residents being held hostage by Iran.

The son of Nizar Zakka, Omar Zakka, will testify in Congress today. Mr. Nizar Zakka’s youngest son, Mr. Omar Zakka, will represent his father this afternoon during a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

For the details of today’s hearing see the Media Advisory below.

When: TODAY, Tuesday, July 25, 3:00 PM (EST)

Where: House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Details: In addition to Omar Zakka, the following persons will also testify: Babak Namazi, son of Baquer Namazi and brother of Siamak Namazi, as well as Douglas Levinson, son of Robert Levinson. Visit the House Foreign Affairs Committee website for more information.

Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, released the following statement on today’s hearing;

“Iran has made it a practice to take American citizens and legal permanent residents as hostages in an effort to exact political and financial concessions. Since the Obama administration paid Iran a $1.7 billion settlement, the Iranian regime has arrested and tried under trumped up charges Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Nizar Zakka, and others. This tactic has caused a great amount of fear and pain for the families and loved ones of these Americans and U.S. legal permanent residents. This hearing is an opportunity for our subcommittee to hear from some of the families themselves the circumstances surrounding their loved ones’ cases. It is also an opportunity to hear from the family of Robert Levinson – the longest held civilian hostage in America’s history – who went missing in Iran in 2007 and has yet to be reunited with his family, despite repeated pledges by the regime to assist in his case.”

July 20, 2017October 5, 2020

Venezuela Sanctions – America ‘Will Act’ If Maduro Passes New Constitutional Assembly

Following an unofficial referendum held on Sunday, July 16, in which millions of Venezuelans voted in opposition to the decision by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to hold a constitutional assembly that would essentially rewrite the nation’s constitution, United States President Donald J. Trump issued a press release calling for free and fair elections for the people of Venezuela.

The Journal of Export Controls and Sanctions, WorldECR, discusses the recent developments in Venezuela and the potential for U.S. economic sanctions being placed on the divided country.

VENEZUELA SANCTIONS – AMERICA ‘WILL ACT’ IF MADURO PASSES NEW CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

Developments in Venezuela one part of troubling picture for the US president.

The US government ‘will take strong and swift economic actions’ in the event that the Venezuelan government imposes its planned constitutional assembly. So said President Donald Trump on 17 July, the day after a Venezuelan referendum on the assembly, which, opposition leaders say, saw over 86% of the population rejecting the proposal.

The constitutional assembly proposed by Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro (and scheduled to come into existence 30 July) is controversial because, say observers, its intention is to bypass ordinary legislative processes. But it’s also being seen as a culmination of US frustration with the political situation in Venezuela – and beyond.

DC-based lawyer Jason Poblete of Poblete Tamargo told WorldECR that the current situation is ‘beyond tense – people are dying daily,’ and he said that the present time is seeing a number of issues converging, as a nexus between Venezuelan officials, Cuban political advisers active in Caracas, and links between the Central American republics with Iran, become clearer.

The article published by WorldECR can be found here.

July 18, 2017July 3, 2019

UPDATE 13- Fourth Week of Hunger Strike Zakka Says “Liberty or Death…there is no turning back”

Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate Nizar Zakka

4th Week of Hunger Strike Zakka Says: “liberty or death … there is no turning back”

U.S. Legal Permanant Resident and Internet Freedom Advocate Nizar Zakka has begun the fourth week of his hunger strike protesting the false charges and cruel treatment he has been subjected to by Iran. Mr. Zakka’s attorney in the United States, Mr. Jason Poblete released the following statement:

Determined more than ever to secure his freedom, Mr. Zakka has started his fourth week of hunger strike to protest the false charges against him as well as the cruel treatment that he has been subjected to in Evin Prison. As he has done since the onset of this ordeal, Nizar maintains his innocence and seeks the unconditional release from Iranian captivity.

Nizar has been subjected to unspeakable acts of physical and psychological torture in violation of his fundamental liberties. Iranian officials know very well that torture, under any circumstances, is unacceptable. The prohibition against torture is so widely accepted that it is now a fundamental principle of customary international law. To this day, Iran has repeatedly violated the United Nations Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Despite significant pressures from his jailers in Evin, this past weekend Nizar said he remains committed to the hunger strike, for himself and others unjustly held, adding it is “liberty or death … there is no turning back.” Nizar is fighting not only for his liberty but also his life. On behalf of Nizar, we strongly urge all parties in a position to do so, to act swiftly to secure his release on a humanitarian basis.

Nizar was kidnapped by the Iranian regime on September 18, 2015. Nizar was in Iran because he was invited to speak by Shahindokht Molaverdi at a women’s Internet conference. Molaverdi is a member of Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet and serves as the vice president of Iran for Women and Family Affairs.

More information on Nizar Zakka’s case can be found below.

Matter of Nizar Zakka – Hostage in Iran (YouTube)

Prior Statements and Releases

July 11, 2017July 7, 2020

The Odebrecht Contagion

Then there are the aftershocks that, I believe, will likely spell more trouble for Odebrecht. As of this writing, there seems to be no end in sight to the legal, economic, and political challenges that await anyone that can be connected to the matter. Former and current presidents, governors, members of Congress, mayors, and other political figures in various nations are under investigation; under some sort of media or public scrutiny by political foes, or in some cases, are already in prison. Furthermore, as if this case needed any more intrigue, on 19 January 2017, the Brazilian legal team in charge of the ongoing corruption probe was killed in a plane crash, setting off a new and unwelcome thread of stories about a case that most Brazilians would prefer would simply go away.

Close to one-third of the cabinet of Brazil’s current president is under investigation, as are many members of the Brazilian Congress. In the Dominican Republic, opposition leaders are stressing that the system must be cleaned up, while citizens state protests in front of Odebrecht corporate offices. Meanwhile, in Argentina, the head of intelligence services is under investigation [again], and the relatively new center-right president is reportedly considering canceling all Odebrecht contracts. As discussed herein, similar stories are unfolding in other nations touched by this corruption contagion. Companies that do business with the public sector in these countries will have to contend with this political uncertainty that, in turn, should empower legal and compliance departments of companies that engage in the region.

What began as a money-laundering investigation by the Brazilian state police in the autumn of 2014, two years later became a four-continent, 12-nation global corruption investigation that, to this day, continues to generate legal and political aftershocks throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It was one of the largest corruption scandals in Brazilian history, and indeed, most of Latin America and the world. The primary targets of the probes — the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and Brazil’s state-run energy company, Petrobras — have a long road ahead. In addition to the massive debt restructuring needed to save Odebrecht, there are years of legal and compliance issues that need to be sorted out.

Bear in mind that these were not insignificant sums of money or, as we say in America, chump change. Close to $3.5 billion in bribes is a significant amount of cash in these cash-strapped nations, and much of it was taken from taxpayers. This was a line item, and off-book budget of approximately $750 million per year in bribes intended to sway politicians to award very lucrative contracts to Odebrecht. It was not a one-off event that voters will soon forget. Public confidence in governments in the region was low before this happened and, unless the clean-up is undertaken properly and transparently, additional political instability is possible. This, in turn, will likely result in increased scrutiny on companies in other sectors. In Brazil, this is already happening.

“The Odebrecht Contagion,” as published in The Trade Security Journal, can be found below.

Odebrecht Contagion by Jason I. Poblete on Scribd

The Complete July Issue of Trade Security Journal can be found here (Subscription Required).

July 10, 2017July 3, 2019

UPDATE 12- As Nizar Starts Third Week of Hunger Strike, Family Pleas For Humanitarian Release

Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Internet Freedom Advocate Nizar Zakka

As Nizar Starts Third Week of Hunger Strike, Family Pleas For Humanitarian Release

Fifteen days ago Internet freedom advocate Nizar Zakka started his fifth hunger strike in Evin Prison to protest inhumane treatment at the hands of Iranian captors who have held him hostage since September 18, 2015.

In a quick phone call to family this weekend, Mr. Zakka said it is “too late to stop the hunger strike,” adding that he was being physically “tortured” by the Iranians. The Zakka family issued the following statement:

“We urge the international community, and specially the U.S. and Lebanese governments, as well as all the Human Rights Organizations to help Nizar. Nizar’s basic human and fundamental rights are being violated. Nizar’s his health severely weakened due to his continuing Hunger Strike for past 15 days, while the world is watching silently.”

Ms. Shahindokht Molaverdi, a member of Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet, who also serves as the Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, invited Mr. Zakka in the summer of 2015 to speak at a technology conference for women and families.

After several days in Iran, and after a seemingly successful event that was public and covered on social media, Nizar was detained en route to the airport on September 18, 2015. It is believed that he has been held at Evin Prison ever since.

More information on Nizar Zakka’s case can be found below.

Matter of Nizar Zakka – Hostage in Iran (YouTube)

Prior Statements and Releases