Parnaz (Nazy) Azima, a dual national of Iran and the United States, had her Iranian passport taken from her upon arrival in Tehran in late January, after traveling there from the United States to visit her hospitalized and seriously ill mother. Iranian authorities held her passport until September 4; she was allowed to leave the country and return to the U.S. on September 18. While in Iran, Azima was interrogated several times and approached to collaborate with Iranian authorities; when she refused, she was first charged with "engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic," later with "activities against national security" linked to her work for Radio Farda. These charges have not been dropped, and the deed to her mother's house, offeredin lieu of more than $500,000 in bail, remains in the hands of Iranian authorities.

Azima has been an employee of RFE/RL since September 1998, working for RFE/RL's Persian Service in its incarnations as Radio Azadi and Radio Farda.

Azima endured a similar situation from March-May 2006. At that time, her Iranian passport was taken from her while she was visiting her mother in Tehran, one day before her return to Prague. Iranian authorities also began a case against her at that time, but her passport was given back to her and she was allowed to return to Prague after posting bail of about $200,000 in the form of the deed to her mother's house. During a court proceeding that took place after her return to Prague, at which Azima was represented by her lawyer, the case was dismissed and the house deed used for bail was returned to her mother.

Timeline

September 18 Parnaz Azima departs Iran.

September 15 Azima prepares to leave Iran for the U.S., but is prevented from doing so by customs officials who insist that, because she has stayed in Iran for more than eight months, she is now legally considered a resident of Iran and must change the entry for country of residence in her passport.

September 4 Radio Farda correspondent Parnaz Azima collects her Iranian passport and tells Radio Farda she will leave Iran "in the near future". Two Iranian-Americans remain in jail in Iran -- Kian Tajbakhsh, a consultant with the Open Society Institute, and peace activist Ali Shakeri.

September 3 Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari collects Iranian passport and is allowed to leave the country. Esfandiari flies to Austria, where she is reunited with her family. Esfandiari is quoted in a Woodrow Wilson International Center release saying, "These last eight months, that included 105 days in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, have not been easy. But I wish to put this episode behind me and to look to the future, not to the past."

August 26 During an interview with Radio Farda, Azima lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aqasi states that Parnaz Azima has now been formally charged with "acting against national security." Aqasi also tells Radio Farda, "There is a decision that Ms. Azima stays in Iran until her trial," which has yet to be scheduled. English transcript

During a separate interview with Radio Farda, Azima says she was told her situation could be resolved if she resigned from Radio Farda, but she refused to do so: "it is my individual right to decide where to work or not to work, or to resign or not to resign. This cannot be dictated, therefore I rejected the suggestion," she said. English transcript

August 21 Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari is released from Evin Prison on 300 million tooman ($320,000) bail, but is forced to remain in Iran.

July 25 Azima's lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, tells Radio Farda that he has finally received confirmation that Parnaz Azima's case has been referred to Branch 13 of the Revolutionary Court, a chamber specifically designated to handle cases of those charged with alleged anti-establishment activity.

July 20 The "Los Angeles Times" publishes an extensive article detailing the case of Parnaz Azima

July 18 Azima's lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, tells Radio Farda: "More than one month has passed since the prosecutor's office referred Azima's case to a court; the court, however, has yet to take action on the case. According to Iranian law, the court should already have scheduled a trial date and informed Azima and her attorneys of this date. But the case is sill in the state of limbo." Azima added, "My situation is still unclear, I have been kept away from work, and, the Ministry of Intelligence is still in possession of my passport without any legal justification."

July 18 Iranian state television broadcasts a program featuring Iranian-American scholars Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh that intersperses footage of the democratic revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine with video of the two scholars talking about their work in the United States. Many observers note that the video was edited to make it look as though they were "confessing"; the U.S. State Department, Woodrow Wilson International Center and Open Society Institute, among others, denounce the airing of the "documentary."

July 10 Iranian judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi announces that new evidence has been uncovered linking Iranian-Americans Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh with the previously announced charges of "conducting activities against national security." The claim is immediately rejected by Esfandiari's husband and colleagues at the Woodrow Wilson International Center.

June 27 Several human-rights groups, including Amnesty International, the American-Islamic Congress, Human Rights Watch, Vital Voices Global Partnership, the Near Eastern Studies Department of Princeton University, and other organizations, sponsor a vigil on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in New York to call for the immediate release from Iran of Parnaz Azima, Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and Ali Shakeri. RFE/RL releases a statement in support of Azima for the vigil. Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Barbara Mikulski sent letters and issued statements of support for the vigil and the immediate release of the detainees.

June 26 Washington, D.C. radio station WTOP-FM broadcasts a six-part interview on June 26 and 27 with Parnaz Azima, who spoke by telephone from Tehran with WTOP correspondent J.J. Green. The entire 30-minute interview is available on the WTOP website as well as two articles based on the interview. Article 1 Article 2

June 18 The Iranian daily "Etemad" publishes an article in which an unnamed source claims that Parnaz Azima faces charges of "conducting activities against the state" because she is a broadcaster for Radio Farda, which is funded in part through the $75 million appropriated by U.S. lawmakers to support a "soft overthrow" strategy and "velvet revolution" against Iran's Islamic Republic.

During an interview with Radio Farda, Azima's lawyer Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi confirms Azima has only been charged with "anti-regime propaganda" -- a much lighter charge according to Iranian law than "engaging in "anti-regime activities," which carries a mandatory prison sentence of up to 10 years. Aqasi believes the editor and publisher of "Etemad" were ordered to run the article by Iran's Intelligence Ministry. Azima told Radio Farda that she has asked Aqasi to seek court action against "Etemad" for the "unfounded allegations" made against her in that newspaper by an unnamed source.

June 13 Iranian judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi announces during a press conference that preliminary investigations into charges against Iranian-Americans Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh, Ali Shakeri and Parnaz Azima will be completed "within the next two or three days" and that "the [investigating] judge will decide by next week whether to free or indict them" of acting against national security.

June 10 Azima's lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, told by investigating judge that the Intelligence Ministry will not return Azima's passport and her case will be sent for a court trial. Aqasi told Radio Farda that, as the case is of a political rather than legal nature, only a change in diplomatic realities may change the judicial process. Without such a change, Aqasi predicted that the first hearing of Azima's case may take place in three months, and that there was no way to predict how long the entire process may take.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini confirms detention of fourth Iranian-American, peace activist Ali Shakeri. Shakeri was most likely detained at the Tehran airport on May 13, when he was scheduled to fly to Europe.

June 6 RFE/RL interviews Parnaz Azima by telephone from Tehran, where she characterizes her plight as that of "a prisoner who is in a larger prison and the length of the prison term has not been determined. [The prisoner] is expecting an answer any minute that he will remain in jail or be released." Azima said she remains optimistic that authorities will return her passport to her. Read the press release and transcript.

U.S. National Public Radio broadcasts an interview with Parnaz Azima; audio can be accessed on the NPR website.

June 6 Tehran deputy prosecutor in charge of security issues, Hassan Haddad, announces, according to ISNA:

"The charge against Azima is cooperation with the counterrevolutionary Radio Farda and other counterrevolutionary radios. And because of her past record and her continued cooperation with the aforementioned radio -- despite promises made earlier -- [Azima] has been detained and the case has been sent to court. Haddad added that the Information Ministry publicizes information related to all espionage and security-related cases and added, 'if the evidence provided by the Information Ministry is complete, then the individual would be arrested on the judge's order; but if the investigation is not complete, a request would be made for the investigation to be completed.'"

May 29 Iranian judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi announces during a press conference that three Iranian-Americans -- Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and Parnaz Azima -- have been charged with "conducting activities against national security." Azima's name is not included, however, in a written announcement of these charges posted on May 30 to the Iranian Judiciary's website. Azima's lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, rejected Jamshidi's announcement concerning his client in a May 29 interview with Radio Farda:

"I absolutely deny what the respected spokesman of [Iran's] Judiciary has claimed about my client. Conducting activities against national security is not what was brought up against my client. The only thing Ms.Azima has been accused of is propaganda against the establishment, and it should be noted that this is merely an allegation. This means the only act my client has performed that has been interpreted as a crime is her cooperation with Radio Farda and making reports on Iranian issues on this radio. Filing these reports is not regarded as taking action. It is regarded as propaganda and not necessarily even propaganda 'against the establishment'. And we will certainly respond to this charge in a court of law."

May 22 Lawyer Aqasi learns that bail has been adjusted to 510 million toomans (approximately $550,000); but that the court accepted an appraisal of Azima's mother's house for that amount.

May 21 Lawyer Aqasi returns to the Special Security Bureau of the Revolutionary Court's Public Prosecutor's Office to post bail. The bail bond is now accepted. Azima's passport is not returned.Aqasi is interviewed by Radio Farda and other media about the unusual amount set as bail.

Aqasi told Radio Farda that even in the case of former Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Musavian, who has been charged with violating national security, bail was set at about $200,000. Aqasi also repeated that the whole case does not have a foundation in Iranian law, as the prosecutor's office cannot quote any clause on which to base its charges.

May 20 Azima and her lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, return to the Special Security Bureau of the Revolutionary Court's Public Prosecutor's Office to post bail, now set at 410 million toomans (approximately $440,000). Bail, in the form of the deed to Azima's mother's house accompanied by an appraisal of the value of the home, was not accepted at this time due to a technicality.Aqasi asked the prosecutor handling Azima's case whether, once the bail bond was accepted, Azima's passport would be returned. The prosecutor replied that it may take a while before the passport is returned, citing "sensitivities." Asked what these were, the prosecutor showed a letter from Iran's Information Ministry with Azima's name in the "subject" line and today's date; the prosecutor refused, however, to show Aqasi the contents of the letter.

May 15 Azima answers summons and appears, with her lawyer, at the Special Security Bureau of the Revolutionary Court's Public Prosecutor's Office, where she is given until May 20 to produce bail in order to regain her passport.

Summary of an unbroadcast interview with Azima and Aqasi:

According to Azima, she was summoned to the Prosecutor's Security Office [this Office includes a special section for interrogation and another special section for assisting the prosecutor]. She was accompanied by one of her lawyers, Mohammad-Hossain Aqasi.

Azima was charged with working for Radio Farda, an institution that allegedly spreads propaganda against the Islamic republic. Based on these charges, bail was set at 550 million Tooman (about $500,000), after which she was allowed to go home. The amount of the bail was determined based on an estimate of the salary Azima has earned during her nine years of employment with Radio Free Europe and Radio Farda. The prosecutor justified the bail by arguing that this income was earned in an illegitimate way and must be turned over to the authorities.

Azima rejected the charges and insisted that Radio Farda's mission is spreading information and not political activism. Azima maintained that she has been employed by RFE/RL, a recognized and legal international entity.

According to Aqasi, Azima's case will be sent to the court on the basis of these charges. Both he and Azima maintained that Radio Farda, as in its mission statement, is a media outlet that provides news and information. Aqasi described the approach of the prosecutors as friendly.

May 14 Swiss Embassy officials inquire with Iran's Foreign Ministry concerning Azima; they are told that "Azima's file is being studied."

May 11 Azima informed by her lawyer, Aqasi, that he had received a letter from the Intelligence and Security Office of the Revolutionary Court, dated May 9, summoning both Azima and Aqasi to court on May 15. Aqasi speculates that the best-case scenario would involve a return of Azima's passport in exchange for bail; the worst case could lead to Azima being jailed.

May 9 Azima meets with Swiss Embassy officials, who tell her that an Iranian Foreign Ministry official has responded to their "verbal notice" in person. The response: "The Foreign Ministry is studying [Azima's] passport-confiscation case."

May 2 Azima informed that the Swiss Embassy will present a "verbal notice" on her behalf to Iran's Foreign Ministry on May 6.

April 24 Azima meets with an official from the U.S. Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, reports on what happened to her passport and her experiences in trying to regain the passport. She is told that the Swiss Embassy will attempt to pursue the case through diplomatic channels.

April 23 Azima's lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, is told by an official of the Intelligence and Security Office of the Revolutionary Court, that Azima's "passport will not be returned anytime soon" and she will remain in Tehran for two or three years. According to Aqasi, the official dismissed all references to the letter of the law and said no judicial procedure is necessary.

Aqasi says [the] Security Office is a newly established institution that did not exist last year when Azima was persecuted and then charged in court. Aqasi adds that this institution does not even regard itself accountable to Ayatollah Mahmud Shahrudi, Iran's chief justice.

Aqasi also said when he told the official Azima's job may be in jeopardy because she is blocked from traveling to Prague to report to work, the official responded by saying that would not be bad, as she has been working for an antirevolutionary broadcasting service.

Aqasi added that although up until now he was advising Azima not to use her dual-citizenship status, the authorities have left him no other way but for him to inform Azima she could call the Swiss Embassy at this time.

April 17, 22 Azima contacted by Swiss Embassy officials (the Swiss maintain a U.S. Interests Section as part of their embassy in Tehran).

April 15 Azima's lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, is told there is "no answer.... you have to wait" during a meeting at the Intelligence and Security Office of the Revolutionary Court in an effort to regain Azima's passport. Aqasi is shown RFE/RL's April 13 press release on Azima and is asked why it was issued, "even though Aqasi had said he wants to keep the issue out of the media?" Aqasi answered that Azima had kept this quiet for over two months. Aqasi added that Azima had no alternative but to tell RFE/RL why she cannot report to work and even then RFE/RL itself had kept the issue quiet until the need was felt to intervene in the hope of expediting Nazi's return to work. According to Aqasi, after he referred to the law and said passport confiscation before filing charges against Azima was unlawful, the official told him he is aware of the legalities, yet he has chosen to make that decision and that Aqasi should return in 10 days.

April 11 Azima and lawyer Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi visit the Intelligence and Security Office of the Revolutionary Court; they are told that "a new file has been opened for her and she must wait [for her passport] until they send a note."

Azima told by lawyer Aqasi that he will meet with the person "responsible for that Security Office" on April 15; Aqasi advised Azima that it might be helpful to have word about the meeting and her plight revealed as news by Radio Farda.

March 28 Azima (and her brother) visit the Intelligence and Security Office of the Revolutionary Court; her passport is not returned, nor is a date offered for the return of the passport. Azima is told to wait for a notice to be sent; she is treated in a rough manner by her questioner (who implied he was the prosecutor handling Azima's case, in response to a question by Azima), who asked about her relationship with Radio Farda. Azima advised by retained lawyer Shirin Ebadi to go public, as a way of demonstrating that Azima cannot be harassed into collaborating. Her second retained lawyer, Mohammad-Hossein Aqasi, advises that this should be a last resort and that Azima should, for now, use a systematic approach.

Several days later, Azima returns to the Office of Passport Affairs to reclaim her passport; she is referred to an Intelligence and Security Office of the Revolutionary Court.

February 4 Azima visits the Office of Passport Affairs (under the president of the republic), where she is asked to collaborate with Iranian intelligence; she refuses; passport not returned.

January 25 Azima arrives in Tehran to see her ill, hospitalized mother. At Tehran's airport, her passport and a book text are confiscated; she is given a receipt and told to visit an office in 10 days to reclaim the passport.

January 15 Azima leaves Prague for Washington, D.C., for medical reasons; due back in Prague on February 4.[Azima now being treated in Tehran for unspecified "problems with my health" (which were the reason for Azima's original trip to the U.S.).]