Iranian Nuclear Scientist 'Tortured on Suspicion of Revealing State Secrets'
THE GUARDIAN: Shahram Amiri, who claimed he was abducted by CIA, has not been seen since return from US last year

After being welcomed home as a hero last year, Shahram Amiri (pictured holding son Amir Hossein) has been held and tortured in Iran, according to a US-based website. Photograph: The Guardian
An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA and who returned to a hero's welcome in Tehran last July, has since been imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of giving away state secrets, according to an opposition website.

Iranbriefing.net - run by a US-based group which normally reports on political prisoners and the activities of Iran's revolutionary guard - said the scientist, Shahram Amiri, had been interrogated intensively for three months in Tehran and then spent two months in solitary confinement, where his treatment had left him hospitalised for a week.

The Tehran authorities would not confirm or deny the account.

Amiri has not been seen in public in the six months since his much-publicised homecoming from America, where he claimed to have been held against his will. State media portrayed him at the time as a daring patriot who had escaped from his alleged CIA captors with critical information about US covert operations against Iran.

US officials, surprised by Amiri's unexpected return to Iran, insisted he had gone to the US willingly. There was concern in US intelligence circles however that his original "defection" in Saudi Arabia in 2009 could have been a trap to embarrass the CIA and trick its officials into revealing how much the US knows about the Iranian nuclear programme. >>> Julian Borger and Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

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Interview Amiri im iranischen TV (Farsi, engl. Untertitel)
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der iranische Physiker Shahram Amiri, behauptet, dass die USA wollten, dass er aussagt ein iranischer Spion zu sein. So sollte Amiri Teil eines Austauschs von Spionen mit Teheran werden. Amiri bekräftigte in einem Interview zudem seine Aussagen, dass er im Juni 2009 in Saudi-Arabien von US-Geheimdienstmitarbeitern entführt wurde.



Schahram Amiri schildert die Entführung
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der iranische Atomforscher Schahram Amiri ist auf dem Weg nach Hause in den Iran, wohl via ein Drittland. Der Forscher war vor einem Jahr verschwunden und am Dienstag überraschend in der pakistanischen Botschaft in Washington wieder aufgetaucht. Nun will Amiri im iranischen Fernsehen bekannt geben, wie es zu seiner Befreiung kam. Teheran wirft den USA die Entführung des Atomphysikers vor.



Verbunden >>>

Iranian Scientist Was CIA Mole
THE TELEGRAPH: The scientist claiming to have been kidnapped and tortured by the United States was a CIA mole who spied on Iran's nuclear programme for several years, American officials have said.

Shahram Amiri arrives at Imam Khomini Airport with his wife and son. Photo: The Telegraph
Shahram Amiri was a vital source whose "significant, original" intelligence allowed his US minders to build up a comprehensive assessment of Iran's clandestine nuclear capabilities, the officials claimed.

The allegations are the latest twist in an increasingly perplexing saga that has embarrassed the United States and prompted jubilant crowing in Iran, which has long maintained that the CIA kidnapped Mr Amiri during a visit to Saudi Arabia last year.

Mr Amiri was reunited with his wife and seven-year-old-son after flying back to a hero's welcome in Iran on Thursday. He repeated allegations that he had been abducted, tortured by Israeli and American officers, and later offered $10 million (£6.5 million) to say that he had come to the United States of his own volition.

But US officials told the New York Times that Mr Amiri had in fact been a long-serving CIA asset working under cover at Tehran's Malek Ashtar university. >>> Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Friday, July 16, 2010

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Iran Scientist: CIA Offered Me $50m to Lie About Nuclear Secrets
THE INDEPENDENT: An Iranian scientist who says he was abducted and taken to the United States by the CIA returned to Tehran yesterday to a hero's welcome and claimed that he had been pressured into lying about his country's nuclear programme.

Shahram Amiri said that he was on the hajj pilgrimage when he was seized at gunpoint in the city of Medina, drugged and taken to the US, where he says Israel was involved in his interrogation. In the US, officials were reported to have admitted that Mr Amiri was paid more than $5m (£3.2m) by the CIA for information about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The US claims to have received useful information from him in return for the money, but is clearly embarrassed by his very public return to Iran. The offer of a large bribe is reportedly part of a special US programme to get Iranian nuclear scientists to defect.

Flashing a victory sign, Mr Amiri returned to Tehran International Airport to be greeted by senior officials and by his tearful wife and seven-year-old son, whom he had not seen since he disappeared in Saudi Arabia during a visit 14 months ago. Iran said it was demanding information about what had happened to him.

The US says that he entered the US of his own free will and had relocated to Tucson, Arizona. The US is claiming that Mr Amiri, who had worked for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, re-defected because pressure was placed on his family back in Iran, something he denied yesterday. Officials suggested that Iran had used his family to get him to leave the US. >>> Patrick Cockburn | Friday, July 16, 2010

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Missing Iranian Scientist Arrives Home: A missing Iranian scientist who claims he was kidnapped by the United States returns to Iran, as U.S official says he provided "useful" information


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Iranian Nuclear Scientist Recounts 'CIA Abduction'
THE TELEGRAPH: Shahram Amiri, the Iranian nuclear scientist, has described the moment he claims to have been abducted at gunpoint by the CIA while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Amiri, 32, said he was seized and spirited from the country after being offered a lift while walking towards a mosque.

He gave his account before flying home to Iran on Wednesday after taking refuge at the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington earlier this week.

The US state department has insisted he was in the US of his own free will but Mr Amiri said he was kidnapped by secret agents in Medina, Islam's second holiest city, in May last year.

"A white van stopped in front of me... They told me in Farsi that they were part of another group of pilgrims and said 'We are going towards a mosque and we will be happy to take you as well'," he said.

"When I opened the door to get in and sit down, the person at the back put a gun to my side and said 'Please be quiet, don't make any noise'.

"As I opened the door, one of the passengers pulled out a gun and told me to be quiet. They gave me an injection and when I came around I was in a big plane. I was blindfolded. It was probably a military plane."

He said he was taken to "American territory" and put under intense psychological pressure to accept $10 million to make a video saying he had defected from Iran.

He was then allowed to settle in Tucson, Arizona, and live relatively freely on condition he did not talk about his abduction. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Iranian Scientist: Kidnapped or Studying?


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Iranian Nuclear Scientist Shahram Amiri Heads Home
THE GUARDIAN: Iran had accused US and Saudi Arabia of his abduction, but US says he was always free to come and go

An Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared more than a year ago and mysteriously turned up in Washington is on his way back to Iran via a third country, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman has said.

"With the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran and effective co-operation of Pakistan's embassy in Washington, a few minutes ago Shahram Amiri left American soil and is heading back to Iran via a third country," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted him as saying. He did not name the country.

Another Iranian official on Tuesday said Tehran could enlist Turkey's help to return Amiri to Iran. Ramin Mehmanparast said the foreign ministry would pursue the case through legal and diplomatic channels regarding the part the US government played in what Iran says was Amiri's abduction.

Iran had accused Saudi Arabia of handing Shahram Amiri to the US after he disappeared during the hajj pilgrimage a year ago. Amiri subsequently appeared in a series of internet videos, some of which said he was in hiding from US agents.

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said: "Mr Amiri has been in the United States of his own free will and he is free to go. In fact he was scheduled to travel to Iran yesterday but was unable to make all of the necessary arrangements to reach Iran through a transit country."

Clinton called on Tehran to release three American hikers being held in Iran and to provide more information on the former FBI agent Robert Levinson who disappeared during a business trip to Iran.

Referring to Amiri, Clinton said: "He's free to go, he was free to come, these decisions are his alone to make." >>> Ian Black, Middle East editor, Saeed Shah in Islamabad and agencies | Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Missing Iranian Scientist in U.S.


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'Abducted' Iranian Nuclear Scientist 'Seeks Refuge in Pakistan Embassy in Washington'
THE TELEGRAPH: An Iranian nuclear scientist claimed by Tehran to have been abducted by the United States has sought refuge in the Pakistan embassy in Washington, state television said on Tuesday.

In a dramatic development in a long-running mystery, Shahram Amiri was said to be demanding to be allowed to return home.

Mr Amiri disappeared last year while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Iran claimed he had been seized by the Saudi intelligence services working in collaboration with the CIA.

Washington said such claims were "ridiculous" but shed no light on what happened to him. The American television channel ABC reported it had been told by official sources that he had defected voluntarily and was providing information to the US authorities.

Intelligence websites said he had been "turned" while on trips to Frankfurt and Vienna, and had provided detailed information on the secret uranium enrichment plant the Iranians were discovered to be building near the holy city of Qom.

Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since the Islamic revolution in 1979, and national interests are looked after by the Pakistan embassy in Washington and the Swiss embassy in Tehran respectively.

Mehr, an Iranian news agency, reported on Tuesday morning that Mr Amiri, a nuclear researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University who also worked for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, "went to Iran's interest section and asked for a quick return to Tehran". >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Tuesday, July 13, 2010

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Iran Puts Forward 'Evidence' that Nuclear Scientist Was Abducted by CIA
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Iran lodged a written complaint alleging that the CIA had abducted one of its nuclear scientists amidst an international mystery over the fate of the man.

Iranian scientist Sharam Amiri disappeared after arriving in Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage in late May. Photo: The Sundat Telegraph
Shahram Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia while on pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Medina.

Since then a series of videos have apparently shown Amiri make and retract claims he was drugged and flown to America against his will.

Tehran said it has evidence that he is being held against his will in the United States.

The country's foreign ministry yesterday said it had submitted its evidence to the Swiss embassy, which looks after American interests in the absence of diplomatic relations.

Neither Switzerland nor the United States has made any comment on the case.

Mr Amiri was a nuclear researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University and also worked for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation.

The Iranian government declared he had been kidnapped by the CIA with Saudi connivance. >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai | Sunday, July 04, 2010

Somalia: Mystery Over Who Abducted French Officials

British Tourist Kidnapped by Islamic Extremists in Sahara Desert
MAIL Online: An Islamic extremist group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a group of tourists in west Africa, including a Briton. According to SITE Intelligence, a US group which monitors extremist websites, the claim comes from al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The tourists - a Briton who was working in Austria, two Swiss citizens and a German woman - were seized near the border between Niger and Mali on January 22.

The group released images of some of the captives and also said it was holding two Canadian diplomats seized two months ago.

AQIM spokesman Salah Abu Muhammad made the claim in an an audio message, SITE said.

He reportedly said: "We announce to the general public that the mujahideen reserve the right to deal with the six kidnapped according to Islamic Shariah (law).

"On the other hand, the mujahideen will announce later, Allah willing, their conditions in exchange for the release of the kidnapped." >>> By Mail Foreign Service | Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Mehrere Ausländer in Ägypten verschleppt
NZZ Online: In Ägypten ist eine Gruppe von Touristen verschleppt worden. Die Aussenministerien Deutschlands und Italiens bestätigten die Entführung von jeweils fünf ihrer Staatsangehörigen. In Berlin und Rom wurden Krisenstäbe eingerichtet.

(sda/dpa/afp/Reuters) Seit dem vergangenen Freitag ist im Südwesten Ägyptens eine Touristengruppe vermisst worden, die sich auf einer Wüstenfahrt befand. Laut Medienberichten gehören fünf Italiener, fünf Deutsche, vier Ägypter und ein Rumäne zur Gruppe.

«Wir müssen von einer Verschleppung der Deutschen ausgehen», sagte eine Sprecherin des Ministeriums am Montag in Berlin. Der Krisenstab sei bereits zusammengetreten. Mehrere Ausländer in Ägypten verschleppt: Offenbar 5 Italiener und 5 Deutsche unter den Entführten >>> | 22. September 2008

LE FIGARO:
14 personnes enlevées en Egypte >>> | 22.09.2008

BBC:
'Eleven Tourists Seized' in Egypt: At least 15 people, including 11 foreign tourists, are reported to have been kidnapped in southern Egypt.

The tourists were said to be five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian, while four Egyptians were also said to have been seized.

Local reports said the abduction, which took place near Aswan, was carried out by tribesmen or bandits. >>> | September 22, 2008

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Fate of 19 Kidnapped Europeans Unknown: Despite reports on Monday that they had been freed, the kidnapping drama of German, Italian and Romanian tourists in Egypt continues. The tourists are still believed to be in the hands of their tribal kidnappers, who are reportedly demanding a ransom payment reaching into the millions. >>> | September 23, 2008

NZZ Online:
Entführte Touristen im Sudan geortet: Deutschland verhandelt angeblich mit den Entführern

Die Touristen, die in der ägyptischen Wüste verschleppt wurden, befinden sich angeblich im Sudan. Laut den sudanesischen Behörden verhandelt Deutschland mit den Entführern. >>> | 24. September 2008

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Iran Protests to the UN Over Israeli Minister’s ‘Kidnap Threat’ of Ahmadinejad
BBC: Iran has protested to the UN after an Israeli minister suggested his country could kidnap Iran's president over threats he has made against Israel.

Iran's UN ambassador called the remark "outrageous and vicious" and called on the UN Security Council to take action.
Israeli minister Rafi Eitan suggested President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be kidnapped and brought to trial.

Mr Eitan, an ex-intelligence chief, was involved in the kidnap of leading Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960.

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Mr Eitan suggested that such an operation could be staged to bring Mr Ahmadinejad before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The Iranian leader has made a number of threats against Israel, repeatedly predicting the state will soon disappear.

Mr Ahmadinejad also drew international rebuke by quoting the view of the late Iranian spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomenei, that Israel was a tumour that needed to be erased from history. Iran Raps Israel ‘Kidnap Threat’ >>> | September 10, 2008

IRNA:
Iran Protests to UN Security Council Over Israeli Abduction Threat >>> | September 10, 2008

YNET NEWS:
Iran Demands UN Response to Israeli ‘Threats’ >>> Reuters | September 9, 2008

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