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| Among the Captives Freed by Iran, a U.S. Researcher Held for 40 Days | Among the Captives Freed by Iran, a U.S. Researcher Held for 40 Days |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| A researcher from Massachusetts who was in Iran to study Farsi was allowed to leave the country after more than a month’s detention, his family and the State Department said on Saturday. | A researcher from Massachusetts who was in Iran to study Farsi was allowed to leave the country after more than a month’s detention, his family and the State Department said on Saturday. |
| The researcher, Matthew Trevithick, 30, of Hingham, was detained in December, but his arrest was not previously revealed and officials have not given a reason for it. He spent 40 days in custody, his family said in a statement released by the United States Institute of Peace. | The researcher, Matthew Trevithick, 30, of Hingham, was detained in December, but his arrest was not previously revealed and officials have not given a reason for it. He spent 40 days in custody, his family said in a statement released by the United States Institute of Peace. |
| “We are profoundly grateful to all those who worked for his release and are happy for all the families whose loved ones are also heading home,” his family said. “We look forward to reuniting with Matt and ask that all respect his privacy as he returns.” | “We are profoundly grateful to all those who worked for his release and are happy for all the families whose loved ones are also heading home,” his family said. “We look forward to reuniting with Matt and ask that all respect his privacy as he returns.” |
| Mr. Trevithick’s release was separate from a prisoner swap announced Saturday, hours ahead of the lifting of oil and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program. In exchange for Iran’s release of four Americans of Iranian descent, the United States dropped charges against or pardoned seven Iranians accused or convicted of sanction violations. | Mr. Trevithick’s release was separate from a prisoner swap announced Saturday, hours ahead of the lifting of oil and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program. In exchange for Iran’s release of four Americans of Iranian descent, the United States dropped charges against or pardoned seven Iranians accused or convicted of sanction violations. |
| Mr. Trevithick, a 2008 graduate of Boston University, has traveled extensively across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, according to his personal blog, and has picked up bits of Russian and Arabic. He went to Iran in September for what was supposed to be four months of intensive study at the Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute, a center affiliated with the University of Tehran and offering courses in Farsi. His family said he was there to build on his fluency in Dari, a language closely related to Farsi that he learned over four years while living in Afghanistan. | Mr. Trevithick, a 2008 graduate of Boston University, has traveled extensively across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, according to his personal blog, and has picked up bits of Russian and Arabic. He went to Iran in September for what was supposed to be four months of intensive study at the Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute, a center affiliated with the University of Tehran and offering courses in Farsi. His family said he was there to build on his fluency in Dari, a language closely related to Farsi that he learned over four years while living in Afghanistan. |
| He studied international relations in college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Soon after, he went to work at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. He was there for two years before relocating to Afghanistan in 2010 for a job as the director of communications for the American University in Kabul. | He studied international relations in college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Soon after, he went to work at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. He was there for two years before relocating to Afghanistan in 2010 for a job as the director of communications for the American University in Kabul. |
| While there, he edited “An Undesirable Element,” the memoir of Sharif Fayez, the country’s first minister of higher education after the fall of the Taliban, with a foreword by Ryan Crocker, a longtime United States ambassador. | While there, he edited “An Undesirable Element,” the memoir of Sharif Fayez, the country’s first minister of higher education after the fall of the Taliban, with a foreword by Ryan Crocker, a longtime United States ambassador. |
| Mr. Trevithick was a competitive rower in college, and won a silver medal at the 2008 Head of the Charles regatta, according to a profile in Boston University’s alumni magazine. He helped build rowing teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, and credited a willingness to cede control to local authorities and commit to stays of longer than a few months for his successes in war-torn countries. | Mr. Trevithick was a competitive rower in college, and won a silver medal at the 2008 Head of the Charles regatta, according to a profile in Boston University’s alumni magazine. He helped build rowing teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, and credited a willingness to cede control to local authorities and commit to stays of longer than a few months for his successes in war-torn countries. |
| “So many people are just here on six-month or one-year tours,” he told Bostonia, the alumni magazine. “How can you build trust in such a short time?” | “So many people are just here on six-month or one-year tours,” he told Bostonia, the alumni magazine. “How can you build trust in such a short time?” |
| Mr. Trevithick left Afghanistan in 2014 and moved to southern Turkey to be closer to the nonprofit research start-up that he co-founded there the year before. The firm, SREO Research, provides analysis on the humanitarian crisis unfolding just over the border. | Mr. Trevithick left Afghanistan in 2014 and moved to southern Turkey to be closer to the nonprofit research start-up that he co-founded there the year before. The firm, SREO Research, provides analysis on the humanitarian crisis unfolding just over the border. |
| SREO has earned several hundred thousand dollars in revenue so far. In November, a profile in Men’s Journal credited it with pre-empting a food shortage in Kobani, a city in northern Syria where Kurdish militants successfully expelled the Islamic State with the help of American-led airstrikes. The firm has five employees, including the two founders, who live in the basement of the modest two-story house that serves as the SREO’s offices, according to the article. | |
| “The only time I’m certain I’m not at work is when I’m sleeping,” Mr. Trevithick told the magazine. | “The only time I’m certain I’m not at work is when I’m sleeping,” Mr. Trevithick told the magazine. |
| Around the time of his detention, Mr. Trevithick hinted at the difficulties he was having in Iran. On the Dec. 9 episode of “Sources and Methods,” a biweekly podcast for researchers that he co-hosts, he called in and explained his absence from previous installments. | Around the time of his detention, Mr. Trevithick hinted at the difficulties he was having in Iran. On the Dec. 9 episode of “Sources and Methods,” a biweekly podcast for researchers that he co-hosts, he called in and explained his absence from previous installments. |
| “The Internet here has proven difficult, to put it gently,” he said. “Alongside a few other things, it’s been a little tricky to get a good enough connection.” | “The Internet here has proven difficult, to put it gently,” he said. “Alongside a few other things, it’s been a little tricky to get a good enough connection.” |