The wife of a former FBI agent who is missing in Iran pleaded for information on his whereabouts yesterday, more than a month after he disappeared on a resort island.
Robert Levinson disappeared on March 11 on the Iranian island of Kish, one of three Iranian free trade zones where Americans do not need a visa to enter. He was possibly conducting a private investigation into cigarette smuggling.
"I address this message to those in a position to help me locate my husband, Bob Levinson, or to those who may be able to help bring him home to be with his family. Since the day he went missing, I have not heard from my husband. I still don't know where he is or if he's OK," Christine Levinson said in a statement. "I need to hear from my husband, to hear his voice, to see his face, and to know that he is still alive."
The US, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, has been working through neutral Swiss diplomats to locate Levinson, 59. US officials say he was in Iran on private business. A call to the US State Department was not immediately returned yesterday.
"There have been various reports in the media that my husband is being detained in Iran. I don't know if that is true or not," Christine Levinson said. "But I'm confused by those reports because there would be no reason for him to be detained."
The Financial Times reported last week that Levinson was likely being detained by Iranian authorities, based on an interview with a man who claims to be the last person to see Levinson.
Dawud Salahuddin, an American Islamic convert, told the newspaper Levinson had come to meet him on March 8 at a Kish hotel to get help with his investigation into cigarette smuggling as part of the former agent's work for a tobacco company.
Salahuddin said he was detained by authorities, questioned and later released. He said when he returned to his hotel room, Levinson was gone, and Iranian officials told him Levinson had flown to Dubai.
"I don't think he is missing, but don't want to point my finger at anyone. Some people know exactly where he is," Salahuddin said.
Salahuddin is wanted in the US for the 1980 murder of a former Iranian diplomat.
Levinson was an FBI agent in New York and Florida known for busting Italian and Russian mobsters. His work also helped bring down Colombia's Medellin drug cartel and Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who was convicted in Miami for protecting Colombian cocaine shipments through Panama in the 1980s.
China’s military news agency yesterday warned that Japanese militarism is infiltrating society through series such as Pokemon and Detective Conan, after recent controversies involving events at sensitive sites. In recent days, anime conventions throughout China have reportedly banned participants from dressing as characters from Pokemon or Detective Conan and prohibited sales of related products. China Military Online yesterday posted an article titled “Their schemes — beware the infiltration of Japanese militarism in culture and sports.” The article referenced recent controversies around the popular anime series Pokemon, Detective Conan and My Hero Academia, saying that “the evil influence of Japanese militarism lives on in
DIPLOMATIC THAW: The Canadian prime minister’s China visit and improved Beijing-Ottawa ties raised lawyer Zhang Dongshuo’s hopes for a positive outcome in the retrial China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo (張東碩), yesterday confirmed China’s Supreme People’s Court struck down the sentence. Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China-Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟). That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory. In January
A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia reads: “Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area.” On opposite sides of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand’s military showed off its gains. Thai forces took control of several patches of disputed land along the border during fighting last year, which could amount to several square kilometers in total. Cambodian Kim Ren said her house in Chouk Chey used to stand on what is now the Thai
NEW RULES: There would be fewer school days, four-day workweeks, and a reduction in transportation services as the country battles a crisis exacerbated by US pressure The Cuban government on Friday announced emergency measures to address a crippling energy crisis worsened by US sanctions, including the adoption of a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the crisis, telling Cuban television the government would “implement a series of decisions, first and foremost to guarantee the vitality of our country and essential services, without giving up on development.” “Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities,” he said. Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in
RSS