Baquer Namazi, an 81-year-old Iranian-American man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges by foreign authorities, was sent back to Evin Prison after undergoing a medical examination. | POLITICO screen shot White House calls for immediate release of sick U.S. citizen in Iran

The Trump administration is “deeply concerned” that a U.S. citizen was returned to prison in Iran after a brief medical leave and wants him released immediately, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Wednesday.

Baquer Namazi, an 81-year-old Iranian-American man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges by foreign authorities, was sent back to Evin Prison after undergoing a medical examination, his family announced on Tuesday.


The White House, which in July called for the release of Namazi and other Iranian prisoners, called the charges against him “false” and urged authorities to release him given the status of his medical condition.

“The Trump administration again calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained and missing United States citizens in Iran, including Baquer Namazi, his son Siamak Namazi, Xiyue Wang and Robert Levinson,” Sanders said in a statement.

She added that Namazi “remains in urgent need of sustained medical care, and the United States government holds Iran fully accountable for his well-being.”

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Namazi has been accused of cooperating with the U.S. in spying on Iran, and he and his son were taken into custody during the Obama administration.

Levinson, a former agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been held since 2007. Wang, a Chinese-born naturalized American citizen and former graduate student, was arrested and accused of espionage last year. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

