Orange County Register

A Lake Forest man who was held for more than four months in Iran’s Evin Prison was given his passport by authorities in Tehran and is back home with his family, his son said.

Ali Shakeri, 59, a real estate broker, was resting and wasn’t immediately available for comment today. He was released last month after posting bail, ending 138 days of incarceration, the reason for which Iranian authorities never fully explained.

“We’re definitely excited,” said his son Kaveh Shakeri today. “He’s fine. He’s healthy and getting settled.”

(Read previous Register stories on Shakeri’s detention by clicking here.)

(To read a UCI professor’s view on the incarceration, click here)

But Ali Shakeri’s legal troubles in Iran may not be completely resolved. He told the Washington Post that he could be ordered to go back.

“My dad was given his passport back on Sunday night and arrived at LAX (Tuesday) night,” the younger Shakeri said via e-mail. “He is currently resting at home with my mother. He said that he is not ready to comment on his detention yet” but will speak about it later.

Ali Shakeri was greeted by family and friends at Los Angeles Airport, after which the family went to dinner and celebrated, his son said.

Shakeri, educated at the University of Texas, has lived in the United States since 1981. He is a founding board member of the community advisory board for UC Irvine’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding.

Ali Shakeri had visited Iran three times over 27 years before he went earlier back this year to see his ailing mother. She died while he was there. He was arrested May 8 by agents at Tehran airport.

Shakeri was the fourth Iranian-American released by Iran since August after being accused of endangering national security, claims they, their families and their employers deny.

The charges increased tensions between the United States and Iran, already high over U.S. accusations that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and is fueling violence in Iraq. Iran denies both claims.

Shakeri told the Washington Post that his passport was returned Sunday and he immediately left Iran after posting a bond. But he said he still expects to have to go back to Iran to face charges.

“They released me on bond to come to the U.S., and by court order, when they want me, I’ll be there,” he told the Post in an interview. “This is not something which I will disobey. I gave up the property deed of my brother’s place, which is worth about $110,000.”

Shakeri also told the Post that he was not ill treated during his long ordeal in Evin Prison, where he was held in solitary confinement in the section for political prisoners. “I was not treated bad in Ward 209, and I appreciate the discipline in prison,” he said to the Post.

Colleagues at UCI were happy about Shakeri’s return.

“It will take a while for him to recover from the experience,” said John L. Graham, co-director of the Peacebuilding Center. “It was a difficult time for everybody concerned.”
“I am sure he’ll continue (working at the center),” Graham continued. “Everybody at the center is happy that he’s back in Irvine and we look forward to working with him on building peace locally and globally in the future.”
Vik Jolly, Orange County Register.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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