A complete of 18 state attorneys common, together with New York Legal professional Normal Leticia James, urged President Joe Biden to declare Binance compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan a hostage of the Nigerian authorities in a letter on Friday. Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, can be a former regulation enforcement officer, having served as a Particular Agent with the Inner Income Service (IRS).
Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since February 2024. The attorneys common “expressed grave concern for the well being and well-being” of Gambaryan, who’s being held “unlawfully,” underneath “doubtlessly life-threatening circumstances,” the letter acknowledged.
Designating Gambaryan as a hostage underneath the Robert Levinson Hostage Restoration and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act would unlock sources that might expedite the method of his restoration. Gambaryan’s return might be overseen by the Hostage Restoration Fusion Cell, which assesses and tracks unlawful detainment of U.S. nationals.
The attorneys common consider that declaring Gambaryan a hostage would additionally “apply further diplomatic stress to make sure his instant launch.”
The principle concern of the attorneys common is the deteriorating well being of Gambaryan. In keeping with the letter, Gambaryan’s life is in “instant hazard.” Gambaryan has been denied remedy for malaria and pneumonia throughout his imprisonment, and his “untreated herniated disc has left him motionless.”
The attorneys common consider that except there’s swift motion, Gambaryan’s detention might flip right into a “tragedy.”
Arrested with out trigger
The attorneys common declare that Gambaryan was illegally detained with out correct trigger in order that he could possibly be used as leverage within the Nigerian authorities’s dispute with Binance. The letter acknowledged:
“This blatant misuse of energy is nothing lower than extortion, and it have to be met with the total weight of the U.S. Authorities’s affect, significantly given America’s monetary and political assist of the present political regime in Nigeria.”
Nigerian officers invited Gambaryan earlier this yr to handle allegations about Binance’s involvement in manipulating the Nigerian foreign money. Nonetheless, upon his arrival, Gambaryan was arrested with out trigger, his passport was confiscated and he was held with out formal fees.
The attorneys common accused Nigerian authorities of violating Gambaryan’s primary rights, together with no entry to medical and dietary wants. Gambaryan has spent months in Kuje Jail, which is thought for housing violent extremists from Boko Haram and ISIS.
The letter comes the identical day that the Nigerian authorities failed to provide Gambaryan at a scheduled court docket continuing. In keeping with a press launch, the Nigerian authorities was both unable to unwilling to clarify to the decide the place Gambaryan was, aside from stating that he was in custody.