US Resident Freed By Iran to Trump: 'Get Back Your Hostages'

LEBANON -- Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen and U.S. permanent resident, who was released in Tehran after nearly four years in jail on charges of spying, speaks to journalists at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, June 11, 2019

BEIRUT (AP)

A Lebanese man and permanent U.S. resident who was released by Tehran after years in an Iranian prison is urging President Donald Trump and Western countries to "please get back your hostages."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Nizar Zakka says he was subjected to "all kinds of torture," both physical and mental, during his nearly four-year detention in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.

"Nobody on earth deserves such suffering," he said in the 30-minute interview during which he broke down in tears.

Zakka, an information technology expert, was detained in Iran in September 2015 while trying to fly out of the country. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison after authorities accused him of being an American spy — allegations he and his associates vigorously reject.