When the Vice-President of Iran invited Nizar Zakka to speak at a September 2015 conference – as CEO of a global tech NGO working closely with the U.S. government – he never  hesitated, and promptly booked a flight from D.C. to Tehran. He never dreamed he’d end up in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison as a political prisoner, experiencing solitary confinement and repeated torture. 

Following his speech  at the conference, Nizar entered a taxi to take him to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. En route his vehicle was pulled over by the infamous Iranian Revolutionary National Guard, and he was promptly seized and imprisoned.

Initially expecting the matter to be resolved in a matter of days, Nizar, a Lebanese citizen and legal U.S. resident, spent four years in prison. The U.S., led by the Obama administration, was wooing Iran at that time, and so didn’t go to bat for the release of a non-citizen resident of the U.S.-- even one that worked closely with government agencies focused on the Middle East. There was little progress or hope until Nizar began organizing his campaign for release from behind bars. With a big assist from his sister and the first Trump administration, he finally won his release. 

Nizar now runs an organization called Hostage Aid Worldwide, dedicated to the release and support afterward for victims of unfair political imprisonment around the world.

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