A Lebanese businessman detained in Tehran since 2015 on charges of collaborating against Iran arrived in Beirut on Tuesday, after his government secured his release.Freed Lebanese businessman Nizar Zakka, who had been detained in Iran since 2015, gestures during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Nizar Zakka, an information technology specialist who holds U.S. residency, was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined $4.2 million in 2016. He denied the charges, while Iranian media have described him as a U.S. spy.
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun had lobbied for Iran to grant him an amnesty, and officials in Tehran said his release was partly due to the country’s close ties with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
Zakka met with Aoun after landing in Beirut in the afternoon with security chief Abbas Ibrahim.
BY REUTERS
