? ?
WORLD / Middle East
Iranian-American scholar leaves Iran
(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-03 22:34
TEHRAN, Iran - An Iranian-American academic imprisoned for months and
accused of trying to create a "soft revolution" in Iran was permitted to
leave the country and rejoin her family, her lawyer and family said
Monday.
?
An image grab taken from footage broadcast by the Islamic Republic of
Iran News Network (IRINN) shows US-Iranian Haleh Esfandiari, July 2007.
Esfandiari has left Iran after her release on bail from three months in
jail on security charges. [AFP]
Haleh Esfandiari, 67, who was released on bail in August, picked up her
passport and flew late Sunday from Iran to Austria, where her sister
lives, said her daughter, Haleh Bakhash.
She plans to stay in Austria, where she will be reunited with her
husband, for a week before heading home to the United States, Bakhash
said.
"She had some indication that she would get her passport back but she
didn't know when. It was a complete surprise to all of us, and a relief,"
Bakhash told The Associated Press from her home in Washington.
The unexpected development came after Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said last week that his government was not opposed to
Esfandiari's departure, but that the the Iranian judiciary would have to
sort out the issue.
Esfandiari's family and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, where she is head of the Middle East program, have denied the
allegations against her.
Though Esfandiari got back her passport, which authorities first seized
in January, her daughter was unclear whether charges against her remained.
"We don't know where any of that stands. We know she is free to go and
got her passport back," Bakhash said.
Her lawyer in Iran, Abdol Fattah Soltani, told The Associated Press that
Esfandiari got her passport and left Iran afterward, but he had no more
details.
Last month, another lawyer for Esfandiari, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Shirin Ebadi, said there was no legal obstacle standing in the way of her
client rejoining her family back in the United States, but she has to
return to Iran to stand trial over charges of endangering national
security.
Esfandiari was released on bail Aug. 21 from Tehran's Evin prison where
she was held since May. Her 93-year-old mother used the deed to her
Tehran apartment to post bail.
?? ?? 1?? 2?? 3?? ??
?? ?? 1?? 2?? 3?? ??
Top World News ?
* Blasts near Pakistani capital kill 24
* Tourists flee as Felix nears
* Bush sees possible troop cuts in Iraq
* Social security scandal angers Japanese
* US Sen. Craig resigns over sex sting
Today's Top News ?
* Panel planned to target human trafficking
* China's new rich not healthy: survey
* Church to be built in Olympic village
* Better ties high on Hu's agenda
* N.Korea agrees to declare nuclear programs
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Learn Mandarin online, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment