Watchdog

The United States says it is holding Iran responsible for the health of an 81-year-old Iranian-American man who was sent back to prison this week following a short medical leave.

Baquer Namazi "remains in urgent need of sustained medical care, and the United States government holds Iran fully accountable for his well-being," the White House said on February 7.

Lawyer Jared Genser said on February 6 that Iranian authorities had returned his client to Tehran’s Evin prison after briefly releasing him so he could undergo medical examination.

Genser said the decision, which he said was made despite the advice of the Iranian government's own medical examiner, is "tantamount to a death sentence."

Namazi had undergone surgery while imprisoned to have a pacemaker installed, and Genser had wanted his client's leave to be made permanent given his poor health.

“He has been hospitalized four times in the last year and continues to suffer from life-threatening heart problems," the White House statement read.

The U.S. State Department said on February 6 that it was “incredibly disappointed” with Namazi’s return to prison. "We have been alarmed for some time at his declining health,” spokesman Heather Nauert said.

Baquer Namazi, a retired UNICEF official, and his son Siamak were sentenced in October to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the U.S. government. The charges were denied by the family and dismissed by U.S. authorities.

The Namazis are among several dual nationals held by Iran. Analysts believe Iran is holding them as bargaining chips for future negotiations with the West.

The White House on February 7 reiterated its call 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."

Wang, a Princeton University student, has been given a 10-year sentence for espionage. He was arrested in August 2016 while conducting research for his dissertation on Iran's Qajar dynasty.

Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared in March 2007 after apparently traveling to an Iranian coastal island.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Human Rights Watch has called on Iran to stop executing child offenders after three people were put to death in January for crimes they committed as minors.

In a February 7 statement, the New York-based rights group said "Iran should immediately and unconditionally end the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children under age 18, and move toward a complete ban on capital punishment.”

The statement detailed the executions of three Iranian detainees in January.

Amirhossein Pourjafar, aged 18 when he was executed on January 4 in Karaj prison near Tehran, had been sentenced to death on charges that he raped and murdered a 3-year-old girl when he was 16.

The execution of 22-year old Ali Kazemi occurred on January 30 -- seven years after he was convicted of fatally stabbing a man dead in a street fight at the age of 15.

Iranian authorities also executed 20-year-old Mahboubeh Mofidi on January 30.

Mofidi -- a child bride at the age of 13 -- was convicted of murdering her husband when she was 17 years old.

Human Rights Watch said Iran is “one of only four countries known to have executed child offenders since 2013.”

It said other countries that have done so include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

Amnesty International says at least 90 people have been executed in Iran since 2005 for crimes committed when they were minors.

With reporting by AFP