“Asked whether the Iranian-American Haleh Esfandiari would be allowed to leave Iran for the US, President Ahmadinejad said, “That’s a judicial issue, which should be addressed by the judiciary. In my opinion, she can meet her family.”
Washington Post: “Let Them Go”
…These passionate appeals from around the world should demonstrate to the Iranian government that if it truly wants the world’s respect, it should immediately drop all charges against these innocent Americans and release them without conditions.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: “An American’s Release”
Cautious optimism must be the response to this week’s release on bail of Iranian American scholar Haleh Esfandiari, who had been jailed three months in Tehran on trumped-up charges.
Senator Barack Obama issued the following statement marking Haleh’s release from jail:
“I welcome the news of Haleh Esfandiari’s release. Her arrest and incarceration were fundamentally unjust, and the suggestion that she owed bail for her release deepens that injustice. Nevertheless, we eagerly await Haleh’s safe and quick return home to the United States so that she can be reunited with her family, and urge the Iranian government to free other Iranian-Americans who are unjustly detained.”
Senator Hillary Clinton’s statement:
I commend Dr. Esfandiari for her courage during this trying time and my thoughts remain with her and her family. Yet while this development is promising, the Iranian government should heed the calls heard around the world to immediately allow Dr. Esfandiari to return to the United States.
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s statement:
I am delighted that the Government of Iran has released Dr. Esfandiari from prison. I thank the Iranian Government for today’s action. The next step is to allow her to leave the country and to release the three remaining Iranian-Americans that are being falsely detained.
Senator Barbara Mikulski’s statement:
“I join Dr. Esfandiari’s friends and family in relief and joy at today’s news that, after more than 100 days of unjust imprisonment, she has been released by the Iranian government. This is an important first step, but I will not rest until Dr. Esfandiari is allowed to return to her family in Maryland.
Watch the report here.
This photo was one of the first ones taken since Dr. Haleh Esfandiari was released from Evin prison.
For the full story in the New York Times, click here
The Woodrow Wilson Center issued a press release today expressing their relief at Haleh’s release from Evin prison.
“We rejoice at the news of Haleh’s release,” said Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Wilson Center. “This has been a long and trying ordeal for her and for her family. Her physical and mental well-being is now the urgent priority. We want to see her well, we want her to be permitted to return to the United States, and we want to see her reunited with her family.”
Iran on Tuesday released US-Iranian academic Haleh Esfandiari, detained since May on security charges, on bail of three billion rials (320,000 dollars), the ISNA news agency reported.
“A bail of three billion rials had been set for Haleh Esfandiari. After it was deposited she was released,” the agency cited a source in Tehran’s prosecution office as saying.
There was no official confirmation of the report.
For media inquiries regarding this breaking development, please call 1-617-266-0080.
By the end of Tuesday, Haleh’s time in prison will be over. Iranian authorities have stated they would release Haleh as soon as a $ 333,000 USD bail was posted. Although the terms of the bail are unknown, Haleh’s husband Shaul Bakhash expressed his relief at this new development:
I feel extremely good. It has been a very anxious several months. Now we hope she will not only be released from prison but allowed to come back home
For the full story reported by the International Herald Tribune, click here.
Mrs. Clinton demanded the release of Dr. Esfandari without delay:
It is unconscionable that Dr. Esfandiari – a grandmother who was in Iran to visit her ailing mother – has been detained for more than three months on baseless charges
Clinton also urged the Bush Administration to make the release “a priority for our government.” and pledged to draw attention to Haleh’s plight in Congress.
For the full statement, click here
