Shaul Bakhash, Haleh’s husband and professor of history at George Mason University, wrote an editorial published in Wednesday’s New York Times advising The Islamic Republic that their own interest lies in the immediate release of Haleh, Kian Tajbakhsh and Ali Shakeri.

The fate of these detainees could be resolved by Iran’s government in a number of ways. Only one would be in the best interests of the Islamic Republic: the detainees should be freed and all charges dropped.

The three detainees are not connected to one another…But so far, their cases have followed an ominously familiar pattern.

First, there is an arrest. Then, to justify the unjustifiable, the authorities come up with outlandish charges and accusations; in the case of my wife and the two men, they are accused of spying and endangering Iran’s national security, allegations vague enough to criminalize the most common scholarly activities.

Next — and we seem to have entered this stage now — some in the Iranian leadership recognize what the imprisonment and false charges are doing to Iran’s international standing, and attempt damage control.

In the case of my wife and the others, the Iranian authorities can repeat the discreditable mistakes of the past or they can emulate the good sense they eventually displayed with the British. They can free the detainees and bring a quick end to what has become an embarrassing episode for Iran and a cruel experience for those they have so unfairly imprisoned.

To read the full editorial, please click here