Emad Shargi is an Iranian-American businessman. On April 23, 2018, during a trip to Iran, Shargi and his wife were taken into custody by Iranian authorities and held in

Evin prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

. A Shargi family spokesman said Emad Shargi was taken to a

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

court on November 30, 2020, where he was informed that he had been convicted of espionage without a trial. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage and providing military information to foreign countries. Iran does not recognize

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

, depriving prisoners like Shargi of consular assistance and diplomatic access. The families of the American nationals imprisoned in Iran called for the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

to prioritize their return in negotiations. His daughters, Hannah Shargi and Ariana Shargi, appeared in multiple interviews concerning their father's imprisonment and pleading for the U.S. government to take action, as well as his sister, Neda Shargi. A U.S. official said the Biden administration is treating the issue of the detainees independently from the Iran nuclear deal negotiations and is trying to resolve it as soon as possible. In 2022, Emad's sister, Neda, joined the steering committee of the

Bring Our Families Home Bring Our Families Home (BOFH) is a campaign by family members of American hostages and detainees advocating for their immediate release. The James Foley Legacy Foundation claims that there are approximately sixty Americans who are being held ho ...

campaign to further raise awareness of Emad's detention and other Americans deemed hostages or wrongful detainees. Emad was ultimately freed from imprisonment in Iran on September 18, 2023, as part of an Iran–United States prisoner release deal mediated by

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. He arrived back on American soil in early morning on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

See also