Category: News

U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran, Press Statement, Secretary of State

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/213592.htm
U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran

Press Statement
John Kerry Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 28, 2013

The United States respectfully asks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperatively with us in our efforts to help U.S. citizens Robert Levinson, Amir Hekmati, and Saeed Abedini to return to their families after lengthy detentions.

Mr. Levinson went missing from Kish Island, Iran, in March 2007. Mr. Levinson is not only a husband, but a caring father to seven children. His family has endured with courage and quiet dignity the pain of spending so many important family milestones without him there. They shouldn’t have to endure additional worry about his whereabouts and well being. We call again on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold its offer to help find Mr. Levinson and return him safely to his family.

The United States is also deeply concerned about the fate of dual U.S. citizens Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini. Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary
of Mr. Hekmati’s detention in Iran on false espionage charges. On September 26, Mr. Abedini will have spent a year in detention in Iran. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to his religious beliefs.

President Rouhani has shared in his speeches and interviews over the past few months his hope and vision to improve the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s relationship with the world.

We urge the Iranian Government to release Mr. Hekmati and Mr. Abedini and to help us locate Mr. Levinson so that they may be reunited with their families as safely and as soon as possible.

These men belong at home with those who love them and miss them.

PRN: 2013/2041

Robert Levinson Photos Show Iran Holding Former FBI Agent Hostage Since 2007, U.S. Officials Say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two years after a hostage video and photographs of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson raised the possibility that the missing American was being held by terrorists, U.S. officials now see the government of Iran behind the images, intelligence officials told The Associated Press.

Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in 2007 on the Iranian island of Kish. The Iranian government has repeatedly denied knowing anything about his disappearance, and the disturbing video and photos that Levinson’s family received in late 2010 and early 2011 seemed to give credence to the idea.

The extraordinary photos — showing Levinson’s hair wild and gray, his beard long and unkempt — are being seen for the first time publicly after the family provided copies to the AP. The video has been previously released.

In response to Iran’s repeated denials, and amid secret conversations with Iran’s government, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement in March 2011 that Levinson was being held somewhere in South Asia. The implication was that Levinson might be in the hands of terrorist group or criminal organization somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The statement was a goodwill gesture to Iran, one that the U.S. hoped would prod Tehran to help bring him home.

But nothing happened.

Two years later, with the investigation stalled, the consensus now among some U.S. officials involved in the case is that despite years of denials, Iran’s intelligence service was almost certainly behind the 54-second video and five photographs of Levinson that were emailed anonymously to his family. The tradecraft used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly. While everything dealing with Iran is murky, their conclusion is based on the U.S. government’s best intelligence analysis.

The photos, for example, portray Levinson in an orange jumpsuit like those worn by detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. The family received them via email in April 2011. In each photo, he held a sign bearing a different message.

“I am here in Guantanamo,” one said. “Do you know where it is?”

Another read: “This is the result of 30 years serving for USA.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has personally and repeatedly criticized the U.S. over its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

U.S. operatives in Afghanistan managed to trace the cellphone used to send the photographs, officials said. But the owner had nothing to do with the photos, and the trail went cold.

It was that way, too, with the hostage video the family received. It was sent from a cyber cafe in Pakistan in November 2010. The video depicted a haggard Levinson, who said he was being held by a “group.” In the background, Pashtun wedding music can be heard. The Pashtun people live primarily in Pakistan and Afghanistan, just across Iran’s eastern border.

Yet the sender left no clues to his identity and never used that email address again.

Whoever was behind the photos and video was no amateur, U.S. authorities concluded. They made no mistakes, leading investigators to conclude it had to be a professional intelligence service like Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Levinson’s wife, Christine, provided the photos to The Associated Press because she felt her husband’s disappearance was not getting the attention it deserves from the government.

“There isn’t any pressure on Iran to resolve this,” she said. “It’s been much too long.”

Though U.S. diplomats and the FBI have tried behind the scenes to find Levinson, of Coral Springs, Fla., and bring him home, both presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have said little about his case and have applied little public pressure on Iran for more information about Levinson’s whereabouts.

Christine Levinson has watched more public pressure result in Iran’s release of a trio of hikers, a journalist named Roxana Saberi and a team of British sailors captured by the Iranian Navy. Everyone has come home except her husband.

Washington’s quiet diplomacy, meanwhile, has yielded scant results beyond the Iranian president’s promise to help find Levinson.

“We assumed there would be some kind of follow-up and we didn’t get any,” Christine Levinson said. “After those pictures came, we received nothing.”

In one meeting between the two countries, the Iranians told the U.S. that they were looking for Levinson and were conducting raids in Baluchistan, a mountainous region that includes parts of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. But the U.S. ultimately concluded that the Iranians made up the story. There were no raids, and officials determined that the episode was a ruse by Iranian counterintelligence to learn how U.S. intelligence agencies work.

An expert on Russian organized crime, Levinson retired from the FBI in 1998 and became a private investigator. He was investigating cigarette smuggling in early 2007, and his family has said that took him to the Iranian island of Kish, where he was last seen. Kish is a popular resort area and a hotbed of smuggling and organized crime. It is also a free trade zone, meaning U.S. citizens do not need visas to travel there.

FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire said: “As we near the sixth anniversary of his disappearance, the FBI remains committed to bringing Bob home safely to his family.”

In an interview, Levinson’s wife said that because her husband disappeared in Iran, she believes her husband is still being held there. She doesn’t think the U.S. government has put enough pressure on Iran to release her husband.

“It needs to come front and center again,” Levinson said. “There needs to be a lot more public outcry.”

She said she has met with Obama and John Brennan, Obama’s counterterrorism czar and nominee to run the CIA. She said that both men pledged to do everything they could to free her husband. Now, nearly six years after his disappearance, she thinks Iran is being let off the hook.

“He’s a good man,” she said. “He just doesn’t deserve this.”

Meanwhile, Robert Levinson will miss another family milestone when his oldest daughter Susan gets married in February.

“He’s missed so many,” his wife said. “It’s very upsetting.”

White House Petition

Please sign the petition via the link below and share it with anyone that you know. We need 25,000 signatures. Thank you for your support.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-rescuing-us-citizen-robert-levinson-being-held-hostage-middle-east-2007-top-priority/GyK0KhgS

Sincerely,
The Levinson Family

We Petition the Obama Administration to:
Make rescuing US Citizen Robert Levinson being held hostage in the Middle East since 2007 a top priority.

US citizen Robert Levinson was kidnapped from Kish Island, Iran in March of 2007. Since then he has been held hostage against his will for over 2,100 days. In December 2011, the family released a proof of life video received from his captors. In the video his deteriorating health was evident. He had lost much weight and was in need of diabetes medicine. Since then he has not been heard from but it is believed he is still alive and being held in the Middle East.

It is the government’s job to protect the lives of all US citizens; rescuing Levinson should be top priority right now for our country. He is greatly missed by his family and friends. Iran has been uncooperative and blocked investigations. We the people of the US wish to bring this man home no matter what it takes.

Created: Dec 21, 2012

Billboard Announcement of $1 Million Dollar Reward

A publicity campaign is being launched this week in southwest Asia to heighten awareness of Levinson’s abduction, announce the $1,000,000 reward, and solicit information. Billboards, radio messages, and flyers will be used to publicize the reward and the investigation. A telephone tip line will be provided to listeners and viewers in that region so that they can confidentially provide information.

Open Letter To My Dear Husband Bob

To my dear husband Bob,

On the occasion of the anniversary of our 37 years of marriage, just a few short weeks ago, I’m writing to you in hopes that this message finds you. This should be a time of celebration and instead it is a time of anxiety, pain and frustration.

When we took our vows, for better or for worse, never did I imagine the circumstances we find ourselves in.

This situation has thrust me into a position in which I feel lost and ill prepared.

I imagined us enjoying this time in our life together raising our children, seeing them off to college, watching them get married, starting families of their own and growing into productive citizens we are proud of.

Instead the last four years, separated from you, have been a living hell. I’ve lived with uncertainty, frustration and anticipation waiting for your safe return to us.

I am willing to do whatever is necessary to bring you home. At the same time I’m at a loss as to how I can do that.

These uncertain times all over the world further complicate what I, a wife and mother who has dedicated her life to her family, can do to influence change.

I remain hopeful that by the grace of God, you will soon walk through our front door and this nightmare will be over.

We will never get this time back which makes each day that passes all the more precious.

Know that our deep faith in God provides comfort and hope that you remain safe and cared for until we are reunited.

I will never abandon you.

Your loyal and devoted wife,

Christine