Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi detained in Iran denied lawyer and family visits

An Iranian-American businessman detained in Iran has been denied legal representation and is on hunger strike, his family have claimed. Siamak Namazi, who has dual citizenship in the US and Iran, has been in custody in Iran since October 2015, when he was detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while visiting family in the country, Reuters has reported.

Allegedly there have been no charges levelled against Namazi, while his family claim they have not been allowed to visit him. It was first reported at around 12 noon GMT on 22 February that he has gone on hunger strike.

Namazi's mother, Effie Namazi, wrote on her Facebook page that she hadn't seen her son for some time, and that neither she nor a lawyer had been allowed to visit. She said: "Recently via family and Twitter we learned Siamak is on hunger strike. This action worries Siamak's family severely... As a mother, I want the authorities to at least allow me and his father to visit as soon as possible to stop his hunger strike."

Following the release of a number of prisoners, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, by Iranian authorities around the time of the recent nuclear deal that saw the cessation of crippling sanctions on Iran lifted, US secretary of state John Kerry reportedly told Reuters that the case of Namazi was 'under review'.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said on their website that Namazi had been interrogated since his arrest and was now being prevented from meeting with his lawyer. It added that Namazi had not seen his mother recently, while his father had not been allowed to visit at all.