ICC Note: Speaking to members of Congress, Naghmeh Abedini expressed the hurt she felt knowing that negotiations with Iran resulted in a deal regarding its nuclear program, but not the release of her husband, Saeed Abedini. During the panel, there were repeated calls made to ensure that Saeed’s release is a top priority for the U.S. government, as he, as an American citizen, remains in imminent danger, in a terrible prison, after being convicted through a sham trial, for charges that are in direct violation of what is expressed to be a core value of American foreign policy.
By J.C. Derrick
12/12/2013 Iran (World Magazine) – Republican lawmakers blasted the Obama administration on Thursday for negotiating with Iran without demanding the release of three U.S. prisoners being held in the country.
The comments came at a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of imprisoned American citizen and pastor Saeed Abedini, headlined the panel of witnesses, telling members, “I felt abandoned,” when learning that U.S. negotiators didn’t ask for her husband’s release before or during the recent talks.
“I had anticipated that I would battle the Iranian government to release my husband. I didn’t expect to battle with my own government,” said Naghmeh, who has spent the past 15 months crisscrossing the country to build support for her husband.
Naghmeh read from a letter her husband sent her from Iran in which he said it is “heartbreaking” to see pictures of his family knowing they are living life without him.
“I came here to help the kids that did not have mommies and daddies, but my own kids lost their daddy,” Saeed wrote. “I want you to know that I did not want to put so much pressure on your little shoulders, my precious children.”
Thursday’s hearing came two days after Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., grilled Secretary of State John Kerry on why the United States engaged in extensive talks with Iran without raising Saeed’s plight. Smith told me afterward he was assuming Kerry would say they had tried and was shocked to learn they never asked.
Kerry said the United States is doing everything it can to secure Saeed’s release and didn’t want the pastor to become a pawn in nuclear negotiations. Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, said Kerry’s response outraged him. “They should be the ones afraid of what we will do to them, not the other way around,” Weber shouted.
Naghmeh said Kerry’s testimony didn’t surprise her, but it was disappointing to hear him say her husband’s life wasn’t as important as Iran’s nuclear program.
“I never wanted them to negotiate Saeed during the nuclear talks,” she said. “We always wanted it to be a precondition.”
Kerry said Saeed’s case was not linked “directly to the nuclear issue,” but other members of the State Department seemed to contradict his testimony, telling the Abedinis’ legal team he was brought up “on the margins.”
…
[Full Story]