Iranian-American Student Detained In Iran

Esha Momeni

Esha Momeni, an Iranian-American student who was detained in Tehran on October 15, remains in jail. She is reportedly being held in Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is under the control of Iran's Intelligence Ministry.

Her family and lawyer have not received permission to see her and the charges against her are unclear. Her family and friends believe she is being held in connection with research for her master's degree thesis.

Writing on Iran's women's movement, she had conducted interviews and filmed members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, which seeks to change discriminatory laws aimed at women. Momeni had been conducting research and visiting family in Iran for two months before she was jailed.

Momeni is a graduate student at California State University, Northridge, and a member of a California branch of the One Million Signatures Campaign.

Khadijeh Moghadam, a prominent women's rights activist, told Radio Farda on October 23 that the authorities should release Momeni as soon as possible.

She said Momeni had interviewed her and just wanted to provide a true picture of Iranian women to the world.

-- Golnaz Esfandiari