Freed American in Iran Prisoner Swap Shares Harrowing Experience, Warns Against Future Hostage Taking

Emad Shargi, a US-Iranian businessman detained in Iran, narrates his violent imprisonment and warns against future hostage scenarios, following prisoner swap deal that faced criticism due to Hamas-Iran relations.

Emad Shargi, an American-Iranian businessman, was released from a prison in Iran after a prisoner swap deal and has shared his brutal experiences. The deal included the liberation of five Americans in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.
Shargi spent much of his life in the United States, representing U.S. chemical companies in the Middle East. He decided to return to Iran in 2016, seeing it as a country full of opportunity after a nuclear deal had been reached.
On April 23, 2018, more than a dozen armed agents arrived at Shargi's home in Tehran, forced him into the city's feared Evin Prison, and he used the code number 97-0-10 instead of his own name during his prison stay.
Shargi was interrogated for hours a day for eight months, insisting that he had nothing to confess. He was suddenly released on bail in December 2018, expecting to be allowed to join his wife in the U.S., but was prevented from leaving Iran.
After being sentenced to 10 years in prison under a broadly-worded statute and a failed escape attempt, Shargi was released in September 2023 as part of a prisoner deal. After landing in the United States, he was welcomed by his family, to whom he hadn't been able to see for almost six years.

CBS News