An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA and who returned to a hero’s welcome in Tehran in July has been imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of giving away state secrets, according to an opposition website.
Iranbriefing.net – run by a US-based group that 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 before spending two months in solitary confinement, where his treatment left him hospitalised for a week.
The Tehran authorities would not confirm or deny the account. Asked to comment, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said: “I haven’t heard anything about this [his arrest] and I don’t have any information regarding this matter.”
