Robert Levinson Not Included in Swap

Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran more than eight years ago, was not among the four Americans released by Tehran as part of the prisoner swap. President Obama announced on January 17 that Iran had agreed to deepen its coordination with the United States to find him. “Each and every day, but especially today, our hearts are with the Levinson family, and we will not rest until their family is whole again,” he added. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest later clarified that the government has reason to believe that Levinson is no longer in Iran, and has thought so for several years.  

 

Levinson’s family members, however, have said they feel betrayed by the White House. His wife, Christine, was dismayed that U.S. officials had not warned her that her husband would not be part of the swap.  “It could have been five minutes, but to find out on the TV for the whole family… was wrong. It was absolutely devastating,” she told ABC News. Four Iranian-Americans held in Iran —Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, Nosratollah Koshravi-Roodarsi, and Jason Rezaian —were freed in exchange for the release of six dual nationals and one Iranian held in the United States. A student, Matt Trevithick, was released separately.

 

One of Levinson’s daughters, Sarah Moriarty said that her family was happy for the families of the Americans who were freed. “But this news deeply hurts. And we can't hold back our devastation, let alone our anger, any longer,” she wrote in an op-ed published by CNN. “We believe the U.S. government did not use the best leverage it ever had to demand that my dad be brought home.”

 

Former FBI agent Levinson went missing on March 9, 2007, during a visit to Kish Island. Initial reports indicated that he was researching a cigarette smuggling case as a private investigator. "He's a private citizen involved in private business in Iran," the State Department said in 2007.

 

Levinson’s family first received evidence that he was alive in November 2010. In a 54-second video, Levinson asked for a U.S. government response to his captors' demands, which have not been publicized.

 

In March 2011, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that new information indicated that Levinson was being held in Southwest Asia, without specifying any particular countries. His unidentified captors sent a set of photographs to his family the following month. Levinson, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, held a sign bearing a different message in each photo. “This is the result of 30 years serving for USA,” one read.

 

In 2013, the Associated Press reported that he had been working on a private contract for U.S. intelligence. It also reported that the proof-of-life video and photos appeared to have been routed through Afghani and Pakistani IP addresses, respectively.

 

Iran has denied knowing his status or location. In January 2013, his family released recent photos of him, and they acknowledged in late 2013 that his visit to Kish Island was partly related to his contract work for the CIA.

 

Levinson is an American citizen who was born in Flushing, New York in 1948. He served in the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration for 28 years, where he focused on investigating organized crime in Russia. He retired from the FBI in 1998 and began working as a private investigator. He has seven children.

 

Website: https://helpboblevinson.wordpress.com/about/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpboblevinson

Twitter: @HelpBobLevinson

 

The following are recent remarks by U.S. officials and lawmakers on Levinson's case. 

 

 

“Iran has agreed to deepen our coordination as we work to locate Robert Levinson -- missing from Iran for more than eight years. Even as we rejoice in the safe return of others, we will never forget about Bob. Each and every day, but especially today, our hearts are with the Levinson family, and we will not rest until their family is whole again.”

 

 

 

 

QUESTION:  Did you have an opportunity to talk to the President about the Levinson family’s disappointment, great disappointment, that he was not part of the number of Americans who have recently been freed?  And if so, what is his position with regard to notification, with regard to maybe making more inroads to bring that man home?

 

MR. EARNEST:  Well, Kevin, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Levinson family.  The ordeal that they have been through over the last almost nine years now is virtually unthinkable.  To imagine how difficult the situation must be for them is hard to do.  And this administration has repeatedly, over the years, pressed the Iranians to be more forthcoming and to provide information about his whereabouts.  And one of the things that was actually secured in this agreement was a specific commitment from the Iranians to help us locate Mr. Levinson.

 

Now, as we mentioned several years ago, we have reason to believe that he no longer is in Iran, and that’s why we continue to press for information about his whereabouts.  And we’re going to continue to do that, and we’ve secured a commitment from the Iranians to use the channel that has now been opened to secure the release of those individuals that we know were being held by Iran on unjustly to use those same channels to try to gather information about Mr. Levinson’s possible whereabouts.  And we’re going to continue to make that a priority moving forward.  And I recognize, and I readily acknowledge, that that does not address the significant pain that’s being sustained by the Levinson family right now.  And there’s no denying the fact that they’ve been separated from their loved one, and deeply concerned about his safety and health and wellbeing is something that we all feel.  But we certainly don’t feel it as deeply as those who know and love Bob Levinson.

 

QUESITON: If I’m correct then, you’re confident that he is alive, and I’m getting that distinction because you said we believe he’s no longer in Iran.  So you do believe or you do know that he is still alive?

 

MR. EARNEST:  I don’t have an updated assessment of that.  I know that there was some publicity in the last couple of years where whoever was holding Mr. Levinson put out a so-called proof-of-life evidence.  I don’t have an updated assessment to share with you.  What we are determined to do, though, is to press the Iranians to provide as much information as they have about Mr. Levinson’s whereabouts.  And we’re going to continue to do that through the channel that has been opened.

 

 

MR. EARNEST:  Well, Kevin, there actually has been extensive communication on the part of the administration to the Levinson family.  And over the weekend, there were senior officials here in the administration that were in touch with the Levinson family.  They were last --

 

 

MR. EARNEST:  Well, as I think all of you knew who were following the news on Saturday morning, that there was an announcement that was made by the semi-official news agency in Iran that was not coordinated with the United States.  And we obviously were treating this information quite sensitively until we knew we could secure the safe return of our citizens who were still in Iran at the time. 

 

So this was a delicate situation, but it is important for people to understand that the administration has been in touch with the Levinson family; we were over the weekend.  The Levinson family last received an update on our efforts shortly before Christmas in another conversation they had with senior administration officials.  Over the course of this process, the President himself has on at least one occasion had the opportunity to be in touch directly with the Levinson family.  And they are part of the hostage recovery task force that the President formed over the summer to improve the way that information is provided to the families of those who are being held hostage overseas.

 

So we’re obviously very sensitive to the concerns and rather raw feelings of the Levinson family.  I think the feelings that are on display are, I think, feelings that no one can really relate to unless you’ve gone through something like that.  But I think we can all imagine, just in our mind’s eye, what that must be like and how painful that must be.  And we certainly are very sensitive to that.

 

“I am thrilled that the four Americans released from Iran today will be reunited with their families, but I am outraged that Iran still refuses to send my constituent Bob Levinson home. This March will mark nine years since Bob disappeared in Iran. He is the longest held American hostage. The Levinson family deserves to feel the same joy and relief as the families of those other Americans released today.”