A U.S. Navy veteran who was incarcerated in Iran for nearly two years took legal action against the Islamist government for $1 billion, affirming he was held hostage and also hurt in the nation.
Michael White of Imperial Beach, California, declared that he sustained physical and emotional abuse and also was deprived of food and drink throughout his “prolonged captivity” in Iran from July 2018 to June 2020, according to a criminal complaint filed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“White endured this trauma for nearly two years, never knowing if or when he would be released and reunited with his family, repeatedly promised that his conditions would improve soon, only to be crushed psychologically when they did not,” the lawsuit states.
The problem traces White’s traveling to Iran, stating he was drawn there in the summer of 2018 by a female he considered his girlfriend so that he might be abducted by Iranian government agents and placed in prison. He was charged with insulting Iran’s Supreme Leader as well as coordinating with the U.S. federal government against Iran– charges the suit says were fabricated– and sentenced without trial to 10 years in jail.
The Navy veteran was initially held hostage at Evin Prison in Tehran, a jail that often houses foreign prisoners and also dual nationals, for at least 10 days prior to being moved to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for a minimum of 18 months.
“Vakilabad Prisons were responsible for certain gross violations of human rights,” officials said. “This includes prior incidence of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary detentions, and denials of the right to liberty.”
White’s jail time was also an effort by the Islamic regime to extract concessions from the Trump administration as well as to “manufacture additional leverage for diplomacy” following Iran’s withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal with the United States in 2018, according to the lawsuit.
The U.S. State Department announced his release to the Swiss Embassy in June 2020. During the Republican National Convention that year, he made a videotaped appearance in a video segment with President Donald Trump and also other Navy captives as well as detainees released throughout the Trump administration.
The Trump administration promoted his release at the time as a component of its efforts to secure the launch of Americans imprisoned or sent to prison abroad.
“I want to let everyone know that recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration,” Trump said.
It was not quickly clear if Iran planned to officially react to the problem, or if it had an attorney to represent it in the event. If Iran does not reply to the accusations, a court can get in a default judgment on White’s part, allowing White to gather damages from a fund set up for sufferers of acts of state-sponsored terrorism.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From NTD News
H/T The Epoch Times
