Several former foreigners and dual citizens held hostage in Iran as well as their families have launched an online campaign to demand release of Iranian political prisoners. 

Several former foreigners and dual citizens held hostage in Iran as well as their families have launched an online campaign to demand release of Iranian political prisoners. 

British-Iranian businessman Anoosheh Ashoori and his daughter Elika, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian academic previously jailed in Iran for over two years, Ghazal Sharmand, the daughter of German-Iranian journalist and software engineer Jamshid Sharmahd – facing execution in Iran, and the daughter of Nahid Taghavi, another German-Iranian rights activist sentenced to 10 years in Iran since October 2020 are among the most prominent figures in the campaign. 

Sharmand’s daughter said the campaign is aimed at showing the world “that the Islamic Regime’s terror extends outside of Iran’s borders, and no one is safe until we all stand up.”

Ashoori’s daughter said in a tweet that “The Islamic Republic continues its cruel practice of hostage taking, rape, torture and murder to rule by fear.” 

“We’re merely a handful of families affected by this barbarity. We come together to raise awareness on the issue and appeal to the public to stand up against this regime,” she added. 

Earlier in the week, Siamak Namazi, who has been kept in jail since October 2015 on trumped-up espionage charges, finished a one-week hunger strike. He released a statement saying that the seven-day hunger strike has left his body a bit weaker, but also, thanks to strong support, his spirit is greatly invigorated.