Haleh Esfandiari
Haleh Esfandiari | |
---|---|
Born | March 3, 1940 |
Citizenship | Iranian, American |
Spouse | Shaul Bakhash |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Vienna |
Academic work | |
Institutions | College of Mass Communication in Tehran Princeton University Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |
Haleh Esfandiari (
Biography
Esfandiari was born and grew up in Iran. She has lived in the United States since 1980, having left Iran with her husband and daughter because of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.[2] She holds dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship.[3]
Esfandiari is married to Shaul Bakhash, a Jewish Iranian-American professor of history and Persian studies at George Mason University.[2] She met Bakhash in the early 1960s, when both were reporters at the Iranian newspaper Kayhan.[2] They have a daughter and two granddaughters.[4]
Career
Before Esfandiari left Iran, she had a career as a journalist and taught at the College of Mass Communication in Tehran. She was also Deputy Secretary General of the Women's Organization of Iran and she was responsible for several museums and art and cultural centers. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Vienna.[5]
In the United States, Esfandiari taught courses on Persian language, contemporary Persian literature and the women's movement in Iran at Princeton University from 1980 to 1994. She was a fellow at the Wilson Center from 1995 to 1996.[5] She has served as director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center since 1997. She was also involved with the Wilson Center's collaboration with the RAND Corporation's Initiative for Middle Eastern Youth.[6]
Esfandiari was a fellow at the
Works
Esfandiari is the author of the book Reconstructed Lives: Women and Iran's Islamic Revolution (1997). In 2004, she co-wrote a paper for the
Esfandiari's book My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran[12] was published in September 2009.
Detention in Iran
On December 30, 2006, Esfandiari was robbed at knifepoint by three men while on the way to the airport after visiting her ailing 93-year-old mother in Tehran, Iran, whom she had visited approximately twice per year over the past decade. During this incident, the men threatened to kill her; then they stole her baggage and both her U.S. and Iranian passports. Consequently, she was not permitted to leave the country.[13] When she applied for new travel documents, she was instead barred from leaving Iran and interrogated over a period of six weeks by authorities from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. These interrogations, which totaled approximately fifty hours, focused primarily on her work at the Wilson Center. During this time, she was allowed to return home each day, but "was pressured to make a false confession or to falsely implicate the Wilson Center in activities in which it had no part".[14] On January 18, 2007, an interrogator and three other men (one holding a video camera) broke into her mother's apartment and entered Esfandiari's bedroom while she was taking an afternoon nap; they then took her laptop computer and other items.[15]
In early May, she was asked again to confess to having taken part in anti-government activities, which she refused to do.
During her detention at Evin Prison, Esfandiari was allowed to make one- or two-minute telephone calls to her mother most evenings, but was not permitted to have contact with her other family members.
Calls for release
Until the announcement of Esfandiari's detention, both Bakhash and the Wilson Center chose not to publicize her case, hoping that by keeping quiet, her travel documents would eventually be returned and she would be allowed to return to the U.S. In February 2007, the Center's president, the former
Following reports of her detention on May 9, 2007, both Bakhash and the Wilson Center gave statements to the press regarding the situation. Iran did not immediately confirm that Esfandiari is being detained. The
On May 15, 2007, U.S. Senators
On May 22, 2007, U.S. Representatives
In approximately August 2007, Lee Hamilton sent an appeal on Esfandiari's behalf to Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, mentioning her extensive efforts to explain Iran's history and culture. Hamilton received a rare, unsigned response from the ayatollah's office stating that he would deal with the issue and that "necessary measures will be taken as soon as possible".[35]
Released on bail
On August 21, 2007, Esfandiari was released on a US$333,000 bail, after her mother handed over the deed to her Tehran apartment.[36][37] Her passport was returned and she left Iran and flew to Austria on September 2.[38] In subsequent interviews she has stated that she was treated well while in captivity.
See also
- Ramin Jahanbegloo
- Ali Shakeri
- Kian Tajbakhsh
- US raid on Iranian liaison office in Arbil
- List of foreign nationals detained in Iran
References
- ^ Menkes, Suzy (17 September 2013). ""Iranian-American academic held in notorious Iran prison", 9 May 2007". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Family hears little from scholar Iran detains". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. May 27, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Wright, Robin (May 31, 2007). "Md. Bank Freezes Funds of Scholar Jailed in Tehran". The Washington Post. p. A04. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Wright, Robin (July 19, 2007). "Iranian TV Airs Video of Jailed American Scholar". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Haleh Esfandiari". Wilson Center. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "Best Practices: Progressive Family Laws in Muslim Countries". RAND Corporation. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ "Past Fellows: Haleh Esfandiari (February–June 1995)". National Endowment for Democracy. Spring 1995. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (May 9, 2007). "Prominent Iranian-American Academic Is Jailed in Tehran". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "Board". Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ Esfandiari, Haleh (November 9, 2005). "Iranian Women Please Stand Up". Foreign Policy. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-06-158327-8.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (May 9, 2007). "Prominent Iranian-American Academic Is Jailed in Tehran". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ "Statement on the Arrest in Tehran of Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East Program". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. May 21, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ "Iranian-Americans Detained in Iran". The Diane Rehm Show. 2007-05-24. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ a b "Reports from Tehran Indicate that Haleh Esfandiari Has Been Formally Charged with Espionage and Endangering Iranian Security". Wilsoncenter.org. June 11, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ Wright, Robin (2007-05-09). "Tehran Jails Iranian American Scholar After Long House Arrest". The Washington Post. p. A12. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ Powers, Ashley; Yvonne Villarreal (2007-05-26). "Popular businessman linked to UC Irvine is missing in Iran". Los Angeles Times. p. B-1. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ "Intrigue Surrounds Former FBI Agent Who Disappeared in Iran Two Months Ago". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (May 22, 2007). "Iran Accuses American of Revolution Plot". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ "Iran accuses US-Iranian scholar". BBC News. 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ Wright, Robin (May 30, 2007). "Americans in Iran Accused of Spying". Washington Post. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ Slavin, Barbara (2007-05-08). "Middle East scholar jailed in Iran". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ Pelofsky, Jeremy; Sue Pleming (2007-05-09). "Academic from U.S. center arrested in Iran". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ Wright, Robin (2007-05-11). "Lawmakers Call for Release of U.S. Scholar Held in Iran". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
- ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2007-08-13). "Refworld | Iran: No decision on detained Iranian-Americans after inquiry". UNHCR. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Petitions - Petition to the Government of Iran to Free Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and Ali Shakeri". SPME. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Read The Bill: S. Res. 199 110th". GovTrack.us. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Omestad, Thomas (2007-05-17). "Iran's 'Illegal' Jailing of an American Scholar". U.S. News & World Report.
- ^ "Gulf Times – Qatar's top-selling English daily newspaper - Gulf/Arab World". Gulf-times.com. 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ a b c Wright, Robin (2007-05-20). "Academics May Boycott Iran Over Scholar's Detainment". Washington Post. p. A20.
- ^ "Read The Bill: H. Res. 430 (110th)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Fathi, Nazila (July 17, 2007). "Iran Puts Detained Scholars Before TV Cameras". New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ "Iranian TV Shows Two Detained Iranian-Americans - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010". Rferl.org. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Iran releases detained American - CNN.com". CNN. 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ "Iran frees detained US academic". BBC News Online. 21 August 2007.
- ^ Hossein Jaseb (2007-08-21). "Iran frees U.S. academic on bail". Reuters.
- ^ Fathi, Nazila (September 3, 2007). "Scholar Accused of Spying Leaves Iran; Another Stays in Jail". New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
External links
- Haleh Esfandiari Personal Home Page
- Contributor page at the New York Review of Books
- "Haleh Esfandiari". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- "Iran Detains Iranian-American Scholar". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. May 9, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- Statement on the Arrest in Tehran of Haleh Esfandiari, Wilson Center, May 21, 2007.
- "Release Haleh Esfandiari". New York Review of Books. June 28, 2007.
- Haleh Esfandiari MIPtalk.com Interview
Video
- Jim Lehrer's Newshour interview with Haleh Esfandiari on YouTube, PBS, September 12, 2007 (8 min 33 sec).
- Appearances on C-SPAN