The family of Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese man, who has been detained in Iran for two years, refuted what it called violations committed by the Lebanese State against him and its continuous attempts to hamper his participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The family announced that it would resort to the Constitutional Council to challenge these procedures, and preserve the right of Zakka as a Lebanese citizen to stand for the elections. The family said in a long and detailed statement that Nizar, who was kidnapped and taken hostage in Iran, asked his brother and his lawyer to present his candidacy for the parliamentary elections. However, the State has refused the move under the pretext of missing documents, including a new extract of civil status. “The failure to clarify this matter definitely makes it difficult not to consider [the state’s] participation and complicity in the kidnapping of an innocent Lebanese citizen to [cover for] the crime and keep the criminals hidden,” the statement said, adding that the family would resort to the Constitutional Council to challenge the decision. “Nizar Zakka and his legal team have no choice but to go to the Constitutional Council, in the hope that this council will grant the right to the Lebanese citizen,” the statement read. In September 2015, Zakka, secretary-general of IJMA3, the Arab Information and Communications Technology Organization, arrived in Tehran upon an invitation from Iranian then-Vice President for women and family affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi, to speak at the second international conference on the role of women in sustainable development. He was kidnapped as he was heading to Tehran Airport at the end of the conference, and later news emerged about his imprisonment by the Iranian authorities. In the autumn of 2016, an Iranian Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison with a $4.2 million fine on charges of cooperating against the state before his lawyer appealed the sentence.