Iranian authorities have informed Lebanon that they have agreed to release Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese man who has been imprisoned there since 2015.
In a statement, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it has been contacted by the Iranian ambassador in Beirut who said authorities have agreed to set Zakka free, based on a request by President Michel Aoun.
According to the statement, after Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil relayed the news to Aoun, the president requested General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to “carry out the mission (to extradite Zakka) in coordination with the Lebanese embassy in Tehran.”
Zakka, who also has permanent US residency, is accused in Iran of having "deep links" to US intelligence services, a charge the family denies.
The information technology expert was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2016 after a security court convicted him of espionage and fined him $4.2 million.
A statement released by Ziad Zakka, Nizar’s brother, confirmed the “imminent liberation of our brother Nizar Zakka after three years and nine months held in Iranian jail.”
.png?w=600)
