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| Family release photographs of former FBI agent who went missing in Iran | Family release photographs of former FBI agent who went missing in Iran |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The family of a retired FBI agent who has been held hostage for almost six years after travelling to Iran have released new pictures of him, bound in chains and wearing a Guantánamo-style orange jumpsuit. | The family of a retired FBI agent who has been held hostage for almost six years after travelling to Iran have released new pictures of him, bound in chains and wearing a Guantánamo-style orange jumpsuit. |
| The pictures were sent directly to the family of the former agent turned private investigator in early 2011 but have only now been released publicly to promote his search. | The pictures were sent directly to the family of the former agent turned private investigator in early 2011 but have only now been released publicly to promote his search. |
| It follows the release of a video of the hostage, Robert Levinson, by his family in December 2011. | It follows the release of a video of the hostage, Robert Levinson, by his family in December 2011. |
| Levinson, an expert in Russian organised crime, was understood to be investigating cigarette smuggling when he travelled in 2007 to the Iranian island resort of Kish, where he was last seen. | Levinson, an expert in Russian organised crime, was understood to be investigating cigarette smuggling when he travelled in 2007 to the Iranian island resort of Kish, where he was last seen. |
| The video and photographs raised the possibility that the missing detective was being held by terrorists but US officials now believe the Iranian government may be responsible for the abduction, intelligence officials told Associated Press (AP). | The video and photographs raised the possibility that the missing detective was being held by terrorists but US officials now believe the Iranian government may be responsible for the abduction, intelligence officials told Associated Press (AP). |
| The extraordinary photographs, which Levinson's family received in late 2010 and April 2011, show him with wild grey hair and a long unkempt beard and dressed up in an orange jumpsuit like those worn by detainees at the US prison at Guantánamo Bay. | |
| In each photograph, he holds a sign bearing a different message. | In each photograph, he holds a sign bearing a different message. |
| "I am here in Guantánamo," one says. "Do you know where it is?" Another reads: "This is the result of 30 years serving for USA." | "I am here in Guantánamo," one says. "Do you know where it is?" Another reads: "This is the result of 30 years serving for USA." |
| The Iranian government has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Levinson's disappearance, and in March 2011, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said Levinson was being held somewhere in south Asia. | |
| The implication was that Levinson might be in the hands of a terrorist group or criminal organisation in Pakistan or Afghanistan. | |
| The statement was a goodwill gesture to Iran, one the US hoped would nudge Tehran towards helping bring him home. | |
| With the investigation stalled, the consensus among some US officials involved in the case is that Iran's intelligence service was almost certainly behind the 54-second video and five photographs of Levinson emailed anonymously to his family. | |
| The techniques used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk publicly, AP reported. | The techniques used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk publicly, AP reported. |
| US operatives in Afghanistan managed to trace the mobile phone used to send the photographs, officials said. But the owner had nothing to do with the photographs, and the trail went cold. | US operatives in Afghanistan managed to trace the mobile phone used to send the photographs, officials said. But the owner had nothing to do with the photographs, and the trail went cold. |
| The video, also sent by email, depicts a haggard Levinson, who says he is being held by a "group". In the background, Pashtun wedding music can be heard. | The video, also sent by email, depicts a haggard Levinson, who says he is being held by a "group". In the background, Pashtun wedding music can be heard. |
| In March last year, the FBI offered a reward of up to $1m for information leading to Levinson's discovery. | |
| Levinson's wife, Christine, gave the photographs to AP because she felt the government was not giving her husband's disappearance the attention it deserved. | Levinson's wife, Christine, gave the photographs to AP because she felt the government was not giving her husband's disappearance the attention it deserved. |
| "There isn't any pressure on Iran to resolve this," she said. "It's been much too long." | "There isn't any pressure on Iran to resolve this," she said. "It's been much too long." |
| She said she had met Barack Obama and John Brennan, Obama's counter-terrorism tsar and nominee to run the CIA, and that both men pledged to do everything they could to free her husband. | She said she had met Barack Obama and John Brennan, Obama's counter-terrorism tsar and nominee to run the CIA, and that both men pledged to do everything they could to free her husband. |
| Now, nearly six years after his disappearance, she thinks Iran is being let off the hook. | Now, nearly six years after his disappearance, she thinks Iran is being let off the hook. |
| "It needs to come front and centre again," Christine Levinson said. "There needs to be a lot more public outcry." | "It needs to come front and centre again," Christine Levinson said. "There needs to be a lot more public outcry." |
| "He's a good man," she said. "He just doesn't deserve this." | "He's a good man," she said. "He just doesn't deserve this." |
| In a statement released late on Tuesday, Alireza Miryusefi, a spokesman for Iran's UN mission, said the Iranian government had been assisting the Levinson family to find him. | In a statement released late on Tuesday, Alireza Miryusefi, a spokesman for Iran's UN mission, said the Iranian government had been assisting the Levinson family to find him. |
| "Even his family travelled to Iran and were accommodated by the government," he said. "Further investigation proved that Levinson is not in Iran and there is no single evidence that he is in Iran." | "Even his family travelled to Iran and were accommodated by the government," he said. "Further investigation proved that Levinson is not in Iran and there is no single evidence that he is in Iran." |
| The spokesman added: "It is very important to find an FBI agent who had travelled to a free zone of Iran, which, if he is found, then the US should explain why the said agent has been sent to Iran and what was his mission." | The spokesman added: "It is very important to find an FBI agent who had travelled to a free zone of Iran, which, if he is found, then the US should explain why the said agent has been sent to Iran and what was his mission." |
| FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire said: "As we near the sixth anniversary of his disappearance, the FBI remains committed to bringing Bob home safely to his family." | FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire said: "As we near the sixth anniversary of his disappearance, the FBI remains committed to bringing Bob home safely to his family." |