Overview
- The Great Neck resident was detained during a spring trip to Iran to visit a sick relative, with his passport seized before his July arrest, relatives say.
- Iran charged him under its ban on travel to Israel based on a bar mitzvah visit about 13 years ago that family members note occurred before the law was enacted.
- He is held in Tehran’s Evin Prison and, according to relatives, was tried without a lawyer and initially given four years, later reported reduced to two.
- Rep. Tom Suozzi asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for immediate diplomatic engagement, a classified briefing to Congress, and a broader assessment of risks to Americans.
- Family and local community members are pleading for his release, reporting limited contact and uncertainty over his access to needed cancer care.