FREE TO GO

Iran to Release Man Accused of Being U.S. Spy After Four Years in Prison

Internet-freedom activist and U.S. permanent resident Nizar Zakka will be allowed to return to his native Lebanon.

Internet freedom activist and U.S. permanent resident Nizar Zakka will be released from detention in Iran, where he was held for four years following accusations that he was an American spy. An Iranian judiciary official announced Tuesday that Zakka will be sent back to his native Lebanon following his arrest in 2015. Zakka was arrested when he tried to fly out of Tehran after he attended a conference there on the invitation of one of the country’s vice presidents. In 2016, Iran sentenced Zakka to 10 years in prison on spying accusations that were always strongly rejected by his family and associates. Zakka, who lives in Washington, leads the Arab ICT Organization, or IJMA3, which advocates for information technology in the the Middle East.