The son of Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national imprisoned in Iran, appealed on Thursday to Lebanese authorities to exert efforts to release his father.
Omar Zakka called on all “capable parties to help and follow the lead of the Donald Trump administration and help in releasing my father.”
He made his remarks after meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the US diplomat’s invitation. He also met with several senior members of the administration.
Zakka’s family said that Omar met with Pompeo and thanked him and his team for their efforts in releasing the detainee.
It remarked that Pompeo has been spearheading efforts throughout the world to release Nizar from prison even before he became secretary of state.
Omar explained to Pompeo and American officials at the State Department the conditions of his father’s detention.
He revealed that he had traveled to Iran in September 2015 where he met Vice President Shahindokht Molaverdi, who had officially acknowledged to him his father’s detention.
She also admitted that his imprisonment was a mistake and that it had harmed her country.
“I am certain that if Lebanon performed its official duty, then my father would return home,” Omar said.
Nizar was arrested after traveling to Iran to attend a state-sponsored conference in the capital, in 2015. At the time of his arrest, he was the secretary-general of IJMA3, an Arab communications organization, and had received an official invitation to visit Iran.
