A complete of 18 state attorneys basic, together with New York Lawyer Common 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 also be a former legislation 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 basic “expressed grave concern for the well being and well-being” of Gambaryan, who’s being held “unlawfully,” underneath “probably life-threatening circumstances,” the letter acknowledged.
Designating Gambaryan as a hostage underneath the Robert Levinson Hostage Restoration and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act would unlock assets that would expedite the method of his restoration. Gambaryan’s return will likely be overseen by the Hostage Restoration Fusion Cell, which assesses and tracks unlawful detainment of U.S. nationals.
The attorneys basic consider that declaring Gambaryan a hostage would additionally “apply further diplomatic stress to make sure his rapid launch.”
The primary concern of the attorneys basic is the deteriorating well being of Gambaryan. In keeping with the letter, Gambaryan’s life is in “rapid hazard.” Gambaryan has been denied remedy for malaria and pneumonia throughout his imprisonment, and his “untreated herniated disc has left him motionless.”
The attorneys basic consider that until there may be swift motion, Gambaryan’s detention may flip right into a “tragedy.”
Arrested with out trigger
The attorneys basic declare that Gambaryan was illegally detained with out correct trigger in order that he may very well 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 complete weight of the U.S. Authorities’s affect, notably 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 forex. Nonetheless, upon his arrival, Gambaryan was arrested with out trigger, his passport was confiscated and he was held with out formal costs.
The attorneys basic accused Nigerian authorities of violating Gambaryan’s fundamental rights, together with no entry to medical and dietary wants. Gambaryan has spent months in Kuje Jail, which is understood 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 courtroom continuing. In keeping with a press launch, the Nigerian authorities was both unable to unwilling to elucidate to the decide the place Gambaryan was, apart from stating that he was in custody.
