Iranian-American Jew Released from Tehran Prison, Barred from Leaving Iran

Kamarman Hakamati, an Iranian-American Jewish citizen, was unexpectedly released from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on Saturday evening. Despite his release from incarceration, Hakamati remains effectively held hostage in Iran, as an exit ban preventing him from leaving the country is still in full effect. Iranian authorities in Tehran have yet to issue an official statement confirming his release or detailing its conditions.

Hakamati was arrested in July 2025 and imprisoned for an alleged offense that occurred over a decade prior. Iranian authorities convicted him for a visit he made to Israel 13 years before his arrest, during which he had traveled specifically to celebrate his son's bar mitzvah. According to reports from his family and human rights organizations monitoring the case, his legal proceedings were draconian and patently irregular.

The trial in a Tehran court lasted only about ten minutes, conducted without the presence of legal counsel, without hearing witnesses, and without affording the defense any opportunity. Although Hakamati is no longer held in a cell at Evin Prison, this partial release leaves him in a state of extreme uncertainty. Without an official lifting of the travel ban, he remains stranded in Iran, separated from his home in the United States, while international actors closely monitor the situation with concern, hoping to facilitate his safe return to his family.